India and US-based e-publishing firm Pre-Media Global USA Inc (PMG) has raised $4 million funding from NEA Indo-US Ventures. In January this year, PMG had raised $18 million from JM Financial India Fund, a joint venture between JM Financial and Old Lane Fund (currently owned by Citigroup). Post investment, the company has three members from the investors on its board (two from JM and one from NEA IndoUS).
The funding will be used for expansion of the company and also acquisitions. PMG has so far completed four acquisitions including GGS Book Services earlier this year.
PMG, with its delivery centre in Chennai, offers knowledge process outsourcing and content services to the US publishing industry. It develops content for college and school textbooks and journals in the US and Canada in all electronic formats such as PDF and XML. It has two facilities in the US and one in Chennai.
PreMedia was set up in 2005 by brother and sister duo Kapil Viswanathan and Kami Narayan, the children of S Viswanathan, former chairman of Enfield India. The company is also planning to explore new verticals such as media services, animation and e-learning. PMG is also looking at corporate, legal and financial contents.
There have been some deals in this segment. UTI Ventures made one of the highest reported returns of its investment in e-learning and e-publishing firm Excelsoft Technologies Pvt Ltd. UTI Ventures picked up a 35 per cent stake for $600,000 in 2000 and sold it to DE Shaw earlier this year for $31 million. Also earlier this year United New Media Ventures Ltd, a subsidiary of UTV Software Communications Ltd, had acquired a 76 per cent in IMPL, the company that owns tech portal ITNation.
NEA-IndoUS Ventures is promoted by Silicon Valley entrepreneurs Vinod Dham and Vani Kola in partnership with New Enterprise Associates. The fund had raised $189 million. This investment will take the portfolio companies of NEA-IndoUS Ventures to 11. Only last month NEA Indo US Ventures had invested $2.5 million in Banglore-based education technology company Idenizen Smartware. Earlier this year the find had invested $2.5 million in Bay Talkitec, a Chennai-based company specialising in media convergence solutions and wireless network. NEA-IndoUS Ventures, along with JAFCO Asia and BTS India Fund had also invested $10 million in Mumbai-based Microqual Techno Private Ltd.