Homeshop18, an India-based television shopping and online retail company majority-owned by local media conglomerate Network 18 Media and Investments, plans to raise $75m in its flotation on the Nasdaq stock exchange.
Newswire Reuters said Homeshop18 had previously explored a $100m initial public offering (IPO) in 2012 and were it to be successful this time, Homeshop18 would become the fourth Indian Internet firm to list overseas after Rediff, Sify and MakeMyTrip.
A regulatory filing said law firms Sidley Austin and Latham & Watkins are advising Homeshop18, with investment banks Citigroup and Credit Suisse as underwriters.
Network 18 owns 54.5% of Homeshop18 pre-IPO, with Japan internet conglomerate Softbank’s private equity fund, SAIF Partners, owning 25.2%, South Korea-based company GS Home Shopping owning 17.1% and OCP Asia, an Asia-focused alternative investment fund manager, holding 6.4%.
US-listed network equipment provider Cisco Systems commited $1.05bn to the first SAIF fund in February 2001 and Joon Shick Kim, GS’s chief information officer, formerly worked at Cisco from 2005 to 2009, the regulatory filing said,
In October 2013, Homeshop18 raised $14m from GS Home Shopping, along with OCP Asia and Network 18, and in April 2013, Network 18 invested in a $30m round secured by the company.
In 2009, Korea’s GS Home Shopping invested $18.5m for a 15% stake in HomeShop18 with Network 18 infusing $5m to hold a 51% stake in the company at the time of the investment. Before that, in 2007 and 2008, HomeShop18 raised $26m from SAIF Partners in two tranches.
Founded in 2006, Homeshop18 had revenues of $51 million during year ended September 2013.