Network18 Media & Investments Ltd, a part of the Network18 Group, has received the board’s approval to sell its business directories Infomedia Yellow Pages and Ask Me, according to a BSE filing.
“The board of directors, at its meeting held on February 21, 2013, has accorded its approval to evaluate opportunities and sell/divest its undertaking comprising of business directories viz. Yellow Pages and Ask Me,†the company said in the filing.
This decision is in line with its stated objective of monetising non-core assets profitably, the company noted.
In December 2012, Network18 sold its financial news services company NewsWire18 to private equity firm Samara Capital for Rs 90 crore ($16.5 million). The company had also diluted its stake in its online movie and event ticketing firm BookMyShow.
Yellow Pages is an online local search service that helps buyers find businesses and enables sellers to improve their marketing spend. Ask Me allows people to search for companies, products and services online.
The Network18 Group is a media and entertainment company with interests in television, internet, films, e-commerce, magazines, mobile content and allied businesses. Through its subsidiary, TV18 Broadcast Ltd, the group operates news channels such as CNBC-TV18 and CNBC Awaaz. TV18 also operates a joint venture with Viacom, called Viacom18, which houses a portfolio of popular entertainment channels such as Colors, MTV, SONIC, etc. TV18 and Viacom18 have also formed a strategic JV called IndiaCast, a multi-platform content asset monetisation entity, mandated to drive domestic and international channels distribution, placement services and content syndication for the bouquet of channels from TV18, Viacom18 and other broadcasters.
(Edited by Sanghamitra Mandal)
