HT Media has acquired Mosaic Media Ventures Private Limited, which runs the business news platform VCCircle and tech news portal TechCircle, from its holding company News Corp.
According to a BSE filing, HT Media has acquired 100% paid-up share capital of Mosaic held by NWS Digital Asia PTE Limited and News Corporation for about Rs 7 crore.
In the deal, the board of HT Media has approved payment of Rs 6 crore post-working capital adjustment while a revenue linked milestone payment up to Rs 1 crore on a deferred basis will also be included. The transaction is expected to be completed before August 30, 2020.
This is the second time VCCircle has been acquired by a larger group. Earlier, New York-based News Corp that publishes leading dailies such as The Wall Street Journal, The Australian in Australia and The Times in the UK, had acquired Mosaic In 2015 for an undisclosed amount.
Sources aware of the development said that it was a distress deal for Mosaic, which had a turnover of Rs 14.5 crore in FY 20, Rs 14 crore in FY 19, and Rs 9.1 crore in FY18, and has around 125 employees on its roster.
This will be a strategic deal for HT, the publisher of Hindustan Times and Mint, as it will look to drive synergies to scale VCCircle and TechCircle to augment Mint’s tech and deals coverage. Additionally, it will leverage HT’s reach to augment VC Circle’s events business by scaling up its database and research business.
Apart from operating news portals and event business, the thirteen-year-old company provides subscription-based research databases via VCCEdge and SalesEdge.
