By Nandita Bose and Indulal PM
MUMBAI (Reuters) - U.S. private equity firm Apollo Global Management LLC
Apollo, which manages about $113 billion globally, has hired Swiss bank UBS
"We have launched a formal process. But yet to decide how to proceed -- whether to do it through secondary deals or sell it to a strategic buyer, said one of the sources.
Apollo, which bought the 11 percent stake in the company in 2009 for about $100 million, is aiming to raise between $150 million to $200 million, said one of the sources.
The stake has a market value of about $144 million.
Dish did not immediately respond to queries by Reuters while Apollo declined to comment.
Apollo will join a group of private equity companies which have already sold stakes in Indian companies to take advantage of a surge in share prices and revival of positive investment sentiment towards Asia's third largest economy.
Last month, TPG Capital sold part of its stake in Shriram Transport Finance
Apollo holds 7.99 percent is via global depository receipts plus another 3.09 percent in the Indian listed entity, according to data on the Bombay Stock Exchange.
Dish TV, with a market cap of $1.3 billion, is part of India's Essel Group which runs broadcaster Zee Entertainment Enterprises
Direct-to-home television broadcast service providers in India have been gaining momentum due to growing spending power in the country and from the Indian government's move to digitise the cable network.
Dish TV's rivals include Tata-Sky, a venture between India's Tata Group and British Sky Broadcasting
Private equity funds have made $823 million worth of exits so far this year in India through 28 transactions, according to VCCircle, an industry tracker. Open market transactions or selling shares via block sales on stock exchanges made up $523 million of the total value. February alone saw 20 transactions valued at $625.8 million, the data showed.
(Additional reporting by Stephen Aldred in Hong Kong; Editing by Jane Merriman)
