NDS Group, a UK-based provider of software solutions to the pay-television industry backed by media company News Corp, on Monday filed for a $100m flotation on the NYSE Euronext stock exchange.
Investment banks Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan are co-lead underwriters of the initial public offering (IPO) for NDS. Leveraged buyout firm Permira owns 51% of NDS with News Corp the remaining 49%, according to its regulatory filing.
News Corp had listed NDS on the Nasdaq stock exchange in 1999 and remained its largest shareholder until February 2009 when its was taken private by Permira. Permira’s largest investor, UK-listed asset manager SVG, is chaired by Nicholas Ferguson, who is also chairman of pay-TV group BSkyB, in which News Corp owns 39%.
During the three months ended September 30, about 32% of NDS’s total revenue of $213m came from businesses in which News Corporation has a continuing interest, including BSkyB.