Tulip Telecom Ltd, an enterprise data services provider which is backed by Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund, has raised Rs 250 crore($51 million) through mezzanine funding from an unnamed financial institution, the company said on Wednesday.
The money will part fund the Rs 900 crore investment strapped to its wholly owned subsidiary, Tulip Data Centre Pvt Ltd. The Bangalore-based arm has just commissioned what it claims to be India’s largest data centre( and third largest single facility in the world) spread across 9 lakh sq ft area in Bangalore to deliver new cloud and networking services. Tulip had one year ago acquired SADA IT Parks Pvt Ltd in Bangalore for Rs 230 crore, which is being used for the data centre.
Of the balance Rs 670 crore investment, the company has raised Rs 500 crore through the mezzanine funding and long term debt. The remaining amount will be invested out of internal accruals.
The company’s top management was quoted as saying in various media reports that the firm has raised the funds until it brings in private equity partners on board.
The new data centre is in line with company's plan to continuously tap emerging opportunities and strengthen its position as a leading player in the enterprise data services segment, the company said. It will serve the hosting, co-location, storage and connectivity needs of large enterprises and small & medium businesses in the region, while also serving as a disaster recovery facility for enterprises that are present in other key business centers across India or nearby countries. The company has partnered IBM for the centre.
At 12:14 PM, on the Bombay Stock Exchange, shares of Tulip Telecom traded at Rs 111.20, up 3.11 per cent from previous close.
The company said it has already received several confirmed orders totaling about Rs 600 crore spread over a 5 year period and it projects the new data centre to generate revenues of Rs 1,000 crore with EBITDA of 45 per cent at peak capacity expected by 2015.
