In what would be its first media investments in India, SoftBank — the Japanese telecommunications and media company — is all set to become an anchor investor in DEN, the multi-service operator (MSO) promoted by Sameer Manchanda. DEN Networks is the distributor of STAR TV channels in the country.
SoftBank, through one of its investment arms, was likely to pick-up a 10-12 per cent equity in DEN for Rs 50 crore, highly placed sources said.
“These will be the first investments by SoftBank in an Indian media company. SoftBank already owns around 40 per cent in the Japanese subsidiary of Yahoo! and several other telecom and media firms. It may invest up to Rs 50 crore in DEN,” a source close to the development said.