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Net4India scouting for small ISPs
(The Hindu Business Line, 7th November 2004)
IN a bid to expand its presence to Gujarat, Punjab and parts of southern India, Internet Service Provider Net4India is scouting for acquisition of small ISPs, and is already in discussion with a player in the South.
"We have been looking for some regional opportunities. Such acquisitions would allow us to strengthen our reach in locations such as Gujarat and Punjab. We will also look at acquisition of ISPs in South, albeit in non-metros," Mr Jasjit Sawhney, Chief Executive Officer of Net4India Ltd, told Business Line here.
He said that the acquisition could involve taking over of just the customer base or even a complete buy-out. "It really depends on the kind of company, its debt structure and liabilities. An acquisition of customers or assets or the entire company depends on the financials of the company. If the carried losses of the target company is high, then there is no sense in damaging our books," he said.
Net4India was already in talks with a player based in South for an acquisition, he said, but did not divulge the name of the company.
"In an ISP, we are looking for capabilities such as access and Internet telephony services. We are also eyeing Web-hosting companies because in that space it is extremely difficult to take customers away from a competitor unless there is a problem in their quality of service. Inorganic route will therefore help us expand our market share," he added.
Net4India's revenues during the first half of the current financial year stood at about Rs 17.12 crore, a growth of about 17 per cent year-on-year. For the second quarter ended September 30, it clocked revenues of about Rs 9.73 crore, up 18 per cent compared to the same period the previous year.
At present, Internet telephony constitutes 35 per cent of the company's revenues while another 35 per cent comes from its range of Web-hosting and corporate e-mail services.
On its expansion plans, Mr Sawhney said that Net4India has started expanding its broadband presence to Kolkata, Hyderabad and Pune. It currently has 8,000 broadband subscribers spread across Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Bangalore. This year, the company would invest between Rs 10-15 crore towards expansion.
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