Reliance Industries (RIL) may buy stake in Hathway Cable & Datacom and DEN Networks, two leading cable TV and broadband service providers in India, Economic Times reported.
The key strategy of RIL, which also owns Indian 4G service provider Reliance Jio that has added 200 million plus mobile data subscribers, is to enhance the coverage of its broadband network.
Hathway Cable has 7.2 million cable subscribers and 0.77 million broadband subscribers. Hathway Cable has cable presence in 350 cities. DEN Networks has 7.2 million cable subscribers and 0.10 million broadband subscribers. DEN Networks has cable presence in 200 cities.
RIL is likely to pick up more than 25 percent each in the two companies giving it the ability to control developments and get a seat on the board.
The deal is expected to be announced in the next few days. Both companies have told the stock exchanges that the respective boards are meeting on October 17 to discuss and approve a proposal for raising funds.
There is no official confirmation from Hathway Cable & Datacom and DEN Networks regarding the deal. The Raheja Group owns Hathway Cable. Sameer Manchanda owns DEN Networks.
Hathway has 52 percent share of the total cable broadband market in India with 0.77 million subscribers and the ability to reach 5.5 million homes.
DEN has the ability to reach 0.97 million homes and has 106,000 broadband subscribers in India.
RIL’s step-down subsidiary, Reliance Jio Media, acquired pan-India cable licence in 2015. Reliance Jio hired K Jayaraman, a cable industry veteran who had led Hathway, and SN Sharma, then the CEO of DEN Networks, to build its cable business. While Jayaraman continues to be with Reliance Jio, SN Sharma has since moved back to DEN Networks.
