Portfolio
Nimbus Communications
| Sector | Technology, Media & Telecoms |
|---|---|
| Investment type | Growth Capital |
| Region | South East Asia |
| Status | Current investment |
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Nature of Business
Nimbus Communications is one of India's leading media and entertainment businesses focused on TV, advertising and sports rights management.
Headquartered in Mumbai, Nimbus is the only Indian business of its kind to integrate sports, TV, motion pictures and digital content. It supplies Indian-language television content to four continents and has operations in India, Singapore, the UK, South Africa and the Caribbean. Nimbus has four business lines: television, sports, films and digital content.
Investment Overview
3i initially invested $45m of Growth Capital in February 2004, in one of the largest ever private equity deals in the Indian media and entertainment industry. Nimbus identified us as an ideal partner because of our deep knowledge of the global media and sports sector and the breadth of our European network. We made a further investment of $27m to support the Nimbus’s strategic growth in 2007.
Our investment has allowed the business to focus on growth through two core business lines Sports Rights Management and TV Production. Nimbus entered into an agreement in March 2006 with the BCCI granting the Company worldwide exclusive license to the media and TV production rights for all Indian domestic matches and series organized by the federation through to March 2010.
In October 2006, Nimbus launched a multi-network sports broadcasting company, Neo, operating in the pan-Asian region. Neo currently owns and operates two television channels, Neo Cricket and Neo Sports and is now established as one of the leading sports channels in India.
Having successfully negotiated to re-new its contract with BCCI for the rights to India’s home domestic and international games for four more years, Nimbus is benefiting from increasing subscription levels and advertising rates and is in a strong position to move forward, either through organic growth or a possible IPO.
