TV 18, SAIF Partners to form India's first dedicated HSN

Mumbai, May 18 (UNI) Television Eighteen India (TV 18) has acquired initial funding from leading Asian private equity fund, SAIF Partners, to launch India's first fully-integrated Home Shopping Network (HSN).

Both TV 18 and SAIF were committed to this initiative through its various lifecycle stages and intend to make this initiative the number one home shopping channel and online venture in India, a release issued here today said.

Both the companies underscored the undeniable need for a countrywide 'virtual platform' which will bring forth products and services that have been evaluated by a team of experts, all of which will enable faster decision-making and enable transactions.

The TV 18 HSN will leverage the TV 18 Network of five channels comprising of CNBC-TV 18, CNN-IBN, Awaaz, Channel 7 and SAW as also its six internet properties comprising of moneycontrol.com, ibnlive.com, poweryourtrade.com, commoditiescontrol.com, yatra.in and Jobstreet India.

Collectively, the HSN will have a pool of more than 70 million adults to tap into - people who are very loyal to the TV 18 brands and are decision makers with the ability to spend.

''Through our investment in the largest Home Shopping Network in China, we have extensive experience in this sector and are excited to partner with TV 18 on a common goal. Given TV 18's capacity to reach out to millions of people, we have a tremendous competitive advantage over a pure start-up,'' said SAIF partner's Ravi Adusumalli, TV 18 CEO Haresh Chawla, said that ''TV 18 believes that the time is ripe for a shopping enabler that integrates our media offering with a fulfilment capability.'' BMR and Associates acted as transaction advisors for TV 18 on this deal while Edelweiss Capital acted on behalf of SAIF Partners, the release added.

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