Pioneer may sell 30% stake

Proceeds from the sale will bankroll expansion.

Delhi-based English daily "� the Pioneer"� is planning to offload a third of its equity to partially fund its Rs 40 crore expansion. It is in talks with venture capitalists as well as a media house in this regard.

The Rs 23 crore Pioneer group is looking to set up two printing presses to bring out a new lifestyle magazine, Exotica, as well as undertake contract printing in a big way.

"We have lined up Rs 40 crore expansion plan, of which roughly Rs 25 crore would be raised through equity placement and the rest through debt. We would sell 30 per cent or a little more. We have several rounds of talks with two venture capitalists and one media group," said Chandan Mitra, editor-in-chief, the Pioneer, and managing director of CMYK Printech Ltd. He declined to comment on whether the Jagarn group has dropped out of the race.

The Pioneer group has hired Mumbai-based Puneet Advisory Services to evaluate the various offers. Currently, the group has a RNI certified circulation of 81,000 for its flagship newspaper the Pioneer and publishes 60,000 copies of the magazine Darpan for Indian Airlines.

"Our new lifestyle magazine Exotica would be rolled out for which we have already tied up with hotels chain "� Inter Continental and Hyatt. We may be tying up with two more 5-star hotel chains and would start with a print run of 20,000 by mid-September," explained Mitra.

The group is also looking at editions rolling out of five more cities including Chandigarh, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and two southern cities. "We would avoid metros where the entry costs are high. But all our plans are dependent on our getting in private equity," said Mitra.