VCCircle

Network18 and SAIF Partners have invested nearly $30M in the venture, and hold 65% and 35% stakes, respectively.

Private equity firm SAIF Partners-backed home shopping format HomeShop18, part of media group Network18, is on a fund-raising course. HomeShop18 has initiated talks with prospective partners and is looking at raising funds over the next 12-month horizon, a top official told VCCircle.

“We are in discussion with some prospective financial and strategic partners. The process is in a premature stage,” says HomeShop18 CEO Sundeep Malhotra. HomeShop18 has outlined three priority areas for growth: To be visible in every television household; to invest in customer experience; and, to reward loyal customers.

So far, Network18 and SAIF Partners have invested nearly $30 million in the venture, in which they hold 65% and 35% interest respectively. HomeShop18 raised $10 million from SAIF Partners in the first round and, in July 2008, it raised another $21 million (SAIF Partners contributed $16 million and the balance came from Capital18).

HomeShop18, a 24X7 television channel for comprehensive retailing, has invested around $25 million over the last 14 months. HomeShop18 claims, it has reached 1.5 million consumers across 2,700 cities in India. With 350 brands and over 20,000 products on offer, HomeShop18 clocks around Rs 1-crore sales per day and gets a new customer in every 12 minutes.

The company recently partnered with celebrity chef Sanjeev Kapoor to retail cookware and bakeware products of his brand – Wonderchef, which he launched last year as a shop-in-shop format in Tata’s Croma store.