One97 Communications plans IPO

MUMBAI, INDIA: Telecommunication value-added services (VAS) provider One97 Communications Limited on Thursday unveiled its plans to raise funds from capital market though equity shares.

According to Vijay Shekhar Sharma, One97 Communications' chairman and managing director, the VAS is a rapidly growing niche market in India and presently it is 5 per cent of telecos' revenue here, while in other regions it is close to 20 per cent of the telecos' revenue.

“The aim of the IPO is largely to invest in developing new and innovative platforms, products and services for enhancing the scope of our existing applications," Sharma said.

The Noida-based company posted a consolidated revenue of Rs. 1,19 crore for the year ended March 31, 2010, while the net profit was Rs. 16.18 crore. The company has a subsidiary in Nigeria and is keen on tapping the market in South Africa.

While speaking to CyberMedia News, Sharma told that the company is largely looking at revenue share business models with telecos and not any license-based models. “We want to do business in markets like India and Africa which are highly emerging and not looking at western markets.”

The company's IPO will hit the market on December 1, 2010 and would be closed on December 3, 2010 for Qualified Institutional Buyers (QIBs), and for all other bidders the issue it gets closed on December 6, 2010.

However, the price bands and minimum bid lot hasn't been decided yet. The company in consultation with the book running lead managers (BRLMs) will notify the price bands and minimum bid lot two days prior of the IPO's opening.

IDFC Capital Limited and Avendus Capital Private Limited are the BRLMs for One97's IPO. The IPOs are proposed to be listed on the National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) and the Bombay Stock Exchange Limited (BSE).