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Reminiscent
India Television Ltd (RiTV), which operates the Lashkara and the
Gurjari regional language channels, has decided to dilute 30 per
cent stake, for which it has given the mandate to consulting firm
Ernst & Young. Ernst & Young has valued the company at Rs
54.3 crore. RiTV’s future free cash flow method derives a valuation
of Rs 48.3 crore. The company also has non-operational assets of
Rs 6 crore, according to the Ernst & Young valuation.
RiTV plans
to privately place equity at Rs 73 per share, based on this valuation.
The company has given the mandate to Ernst & Young to raise
around Rs 20 crore to fund its proposed expansion plans in launching
two television channels, getting into regional language film production
for TV audiences and upgrading the software for its two existing
channels. “We are looking for strategic investors. We should
be able to complete the exercise in the next three to four months,”
said Ernst & Young partner (corporate finance) Sanjiv Agrawal.
RiTV managing director Subhas Menon confirmed that the company was
planning to raise Rs 20 crore. “The investor will be issued
fresh shares. We will utilise the funds to launch a Marathi and
a Metro channel. We plan to produce 12 movies in Punjabi and six
each in Gujarati and Marathi for television viewers annually also,”
he said.
The estimated
cost of the proposed Metro channel is Rs 4.4 crore and for the Marathi
language channel it is Rs 2.2 crore. “The Metro channel will
initially have content from the cities of Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore
as these are advertising-heavy cities,” said Menon. RiTV has
an estimated 3,500 hours of content, already produced and commissioned
by the company. The Punjabi library has 1958.5 hours of content
acquired at a cost of Rs 7.5 crore. It has 1,542 hours of Gujarati
content, with the acquisition cost at Rs 1.2 crore, the Ernst &
Young report said.
Animal
Planet announces innovative programmes
Animal Planet
has announced a host of innovative programming initiatives for the
2002-2003 upfront season. The network’s diverse schedule will
feature more than 80 per cent original programming, with special
emphasis placed on its dramatic programming. Animal Planet will
also expand its original movie franchise with six original movies
anticipated this year.
Besides making
a sitcom, the channel is also getting into the field of computer
animation for the first time with The Future is Wild. The series
explores the evolution of animals far into the future based upon
the predictions of international scientists. Sonya Fitzpatrick is
The Pet Psychic. The series chronicles Sonya’s amazing interaction
with an array of animals and humans who want to know what each other
is thinking.
Other programmes
that will air later in the year include Alphonse Roy’s Great
Cats of India Safari Special. This Safari Special introduces viewers
to Alphonse Roy, India’s leading wildlife cameraman. He attempts
to capture definitive documentary portraits of all of India’s
four great cats - lion, tiger, leopard and the ever-elusive snow
leopard. Viewers follow Alphonse throughout the whole filmmaking
process, from the often-arduous journeys to remote locations, to
setting up specialised field equipment and, of course, the actual
filming. Along the way, viewers meet the many friends and colleagues
with whom Alphonse works: from local feudal overlords and leading
scientific experts to conservation officers.
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