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Private equity investor Warburg Pincus on Friday picked up a 7 per cent stake in the Hindi publication Dainik Bhaskar for Rs 150 crore (1.5 billion) putting the valuation of the company at Rs 2,143 crore (Rs 21.43 billion).
Ambit Finance, the investment banker for the deal, confirmed that an agreement had been reached.
"The investment comes on the back of Dainik Bhaskar's growth capital needs. Private equity funds not only provide capital but also a strategic vision compared with a pure financial investor," said an Ambit spokesperson.
Dainik Bhaskar, the number two daily in the country, is part of the Bhaskar Group, which has presence in the media, textiles, fast-moving consumer goods and oil and solvents.
Sudhir Agarwal, managing director, Bhaskar Group said, "The deal has been firmed up and will close within a week."
The Hindi publication has a presence in eight states with a daily circulation of 3.5 million copies.
At this valuation, Dainik Bhaskar ranks marginally ahead of the listed print media company, HT Media, which is current valued at Rs 2,124 crore (Rs 21.24 billion).
HT Media went public last year. Deccan Chronicle, another listed entity, ranks third with a market cap of Rs 2,031 crore (Rs 20.31 billion), followed by Jagran Prakashan (Rs 1,508 crore or Rs 15.08 billion), Mid-day Multimedia (Rs 320 crore or Rs 3.2 billion) and Sandesh Rs 94 crore (Rs 940 million).
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