MUMBAI: Elephant Capital has acquired a significant minority stake in Amar Chitra Katha for Rs 220 million (£3.2 million). The investment will be made through Elephant Capital’s Mauritian subsidiary, Tusk Investments Fund 1.
Elephant Capital’s co-investment vehicle, will also be investing £0.5 million, and Elephant Capital LLP managing partner Gaurav Burman will be making an additional, personal co-investment of £0.3 million. Elephant Capital will appoint two directors to the board of ACK, Burman and Amit Jain, representing one third of the board seats.
Founded in 2007, ACK is one of the leading children’s media companies in India, with a catalogue of over 500 print and 100 digital products, and 25 proprietary characters with pan-Indian recognition. ACK is the owner of three brands in India namely Amar Chitra Katha, Tinkle and Karadi Tales.
While all the three brands have their roots in publishing, the focus of ACK’s new investments is in expanding the content to TV, film, home video, merchandise and school programmes. The company has creative studios in Mumbai, Bangalore, and Chennai that develop new content for multiple platforms.
In May 2010, ACK announced the acquisition of India Book House (“IBH”), India’s largest books and magazine distributor. This addition will support ACK’s drive to grow the reach of ACK branded products, by giving them control over a comprehensive pan-Indian distribution network.
Burman said, “We are extremely excited to be investing in ACK. I enjoyed the products as a child, and understand the potential of the intellectual property, as well as the rich history within the company. We are delighted to be partnering with Mr. Shripal Morakhia, who has an impressive track record of building businesses. We believe there is a huge amount of value in ACK and look forward to working with the team to fully realise the potential the business holds. I believe this will be a very successful investment for Elephant Capital and is exactly the type of transaction that we set up the fund to do.”
