Helion Ventures and TVS Shriram Growth Fund have invested $7.5 million in 9.9 Mediaworx Pvt Ltd, a diversified media company focused on niche consumer, business and professional communities. Sanjeev Aggarwal, MD of Helion, and Gopal Srinivasan, CMD of TVS Capital, will join the 9.9 Media Board.
Announcing the investment, Pramath Raj Sinha, Founder & MD of 9.9 Media, said, “We are fortunate to have such first-rate investors as Helion and TVS Shriram Growth Fund as partners in our journey to build a next-gen media company. In particular, we are excited that two seasoned entrepreneurs in Sanjeev and Gopal are joining our Board.” The funds will be utilised to fund growth and the launch of new products and services.
“We are impressed with how much the 9.9 team has been able to achieve in a short period of time. At a time when media in India is expanding and growing rapidly, we see 9.9 Media as the ideal vehicle to extend our portfolio into the media space,” said Sanjeev Aggarwal, MD of Helion Ventures.
Added Gopal Srinivasan, “the founding team at 9.9 led by Pramath, brings a great depth of professional experience and we are excited to partner with this team to build a nextgen Media business.”
9.9 Media was founded in September last year by a group of professionals led by Sinha, formerly a partner at McKinsey and Company and the MD&CEO of the ABP Group. 9.9 Media publishes several magazines and manages several online properties and events. In December last year, 9.9 Media acquired Jasubhai Digital Media and all its brands. Earlier, a group of angel investors including Rajat Gupta, former Global Managing Director of McKinsey & Company, had invested in the company.
About 9.9 Mediaworx Pvt Ltd
9.9 Media is a diversified media company in the business of identifying, building, serving, and monetising niche communities through a 360-degree suite of media products and services spanning magazines, websites, and events. 9.9 Media publishes five magazines, Digit, India’s leading personal technology magazine, The CTO Forum, the leading magazine for CIOs and CTOs, Industry 2.0, the only B2B publication focused on the manufacturing sector, Logistics 2.0, a B2B quarterly for the logistics industry, and SKOAR!, India’s only gaming magazine. It also owns several associated online properties—thinkdigit.com, thectoforum.com, industry20.com, and resolvequery.com. In addition, 9.9 Media organises several major events such as the CTO Forum, Infosec, the SMB Conclave and Awards, the Growth Summit besides several custom events. It has recently launched research, training and peer group initiatives targeted to CFOs (the CFO Institute), CMOs and CXOs of
high-growth companies (the Growth Forum). The company was founded in September last year by a group of industry professionals—Kanak Ghosh, Asheesh Gupta, Vikas Gupta, Anuradha Das Mathur, and Pramath Raj Sinha. It operates India’s first speaker bureau in partnership with The London Speaker Bureau. www.9dot9.in
About Helion Venture Partners
Helion Venture Partners is a multi-stage, India-focused venture fund with $350 million under management. The fund invests in businesses that are either technology-powered or catering to the Indian consumer services space. The focus sectors of investment
include – outsourcing, internet, mobile, technology products, retail services, education, and financial services. The fund’s investors are well-respected Global institutions including top tier University endowment funds, Foundations, and family offices. The fund and its portfolio companies are advised by an experienced and industry renowned team of professionals based in India which includes Sanjeev Aggarwal, Ashish Gupta, Kanwaljit Singh and Rahul Chandra. www.helionvc.com
About TVS Shriram Growth Fund
TVS Shriram Growth Fund is a Rs. 600 cr India focused growth equity fund that is established with a vision to develop and nurture India’s mid-cap businesses into world class companies. TVS Shriram Growth Fund is a domestic rupee fund that is registered with SEBI as a Venture Capital Fund and is managed by TVS Capital Funds Limited. The fund looks to invest in proven business models that require growth equity capital and focuses on sectors with a consumer consumption theme, such as health care delivery, privatized education, hospitality, speciality retail, food & agro, and media and entertainment. The sponsors of the fund are the TVS Group and Shriram Group, who bring a proven business culture, infrastructure and a wide network of relationships across several sectors and geographical regions to the nextgen entrepreneurs of India. www.tvscapital.in
Source: PR