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3i invests $45 M in Nimbus Communications
By siliconindia staff writer
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Wednesday, 10 August 2005, 19:30 IST
MUMBAI: London based private equity and venture capital firm 3i has entered the Indian market with a $45 million investment in Nimbus Communications, India's only company with a business mix of media, entertainment and sports.
This investment is the largest ever-private equity investment in the Indian media and entertainment industry, which is amongst the fastest growing in the world.
Talking about 3i's entry into the Indian market, Anil Ahuja, Managing Director & Co-Head Asia, said, "3i likes companies that seek aggressive growth tempered by prudent capital management. 3i believes that Nimbus, with its impressive track record, management depth and global business strategy, is well positioned to achieve its goal of becoming a billion dollar company by 2010."
Commenting on the investment, Harish Thawani, Executive Chairman, Nimbus Communications Limited said, "3i was able to combine its global media expertise and local execution skills to speedily conclude this investment. But above all, the chemistry between us has been fantastic and we share a common belief in the global abilities of Nimbus and that's where I believe 3i will add strategic value."
The investment will be deployed to fund sports rights acquisitions, develop global sports events, augment long term working capital, fund investments in TV production and infrastructure expansion, finance Indian language and international film production, Indian language film distribution, mobile content distribution; and develop further digital content production for wireless and video on demand platforms. Nimbus will also explore investments in sports and lifestyle broadcasting.