India's PE-backed Atria files for IPO

The offer will comprise a fresh issue of shares aggregating up to INR8 billion ($123 million), along with up to 10.4 million shares held by Atria’s existing investors. The bulk of the latter portion is accounted for by True North and TA, which will sell 10 million and four million shares, respectively. Pricing for the shares has not been announced.

According to the prospectus about INR6 billion from the fresh issue will be split evenly between expanding Atria’s underground network infrastructure and paying off the company’s debt. The remainder will be allocated to general corporate purposes. Atria also expects the listing process to enhance its brand recognition.

Founded in 2000, Atria is India’s third-largest wired broadband internet service provider, with a 6.9% market share as of September 2017. It also provides cable TV services in some markets. The company operates in 12 cities and towns, with 1.3 million broadband customers and 710,000 cable TV customers as of December 2017.

True North, then called India Value Fund Advisors, first invested in Atria in 2008 through its India Value Fund III vehicle. The firm later rolled over its stake into a newer fund in 2015, at the same time that TA invested an undisclosed amount. Currently True North and holda 30 million shares representing a 57% stake while TA holds 20 million shares for a 38% stake.

Mobile devices, accessing the internet through cellular connections, account for the vast majority of internet users in India. According to Media Partners Asia (MPA), there were 370 million mobile internet subscribers in the country in 2016, compared with 21.5 million wired – of which 18.1 million used broadband connections.

However, the popularity of wired broadband is expected to grow in coming years as internet users demand higher-speed, more stable connections to consume greater amounts of digital content. MPA projects the broadband userbase to reach 24 million by 2021.

For the year ended March 2017, Atria reported revenue of INR12.2 billion, up from INR8.7 billion the year before. Over the same period net profit grew from INR735 million to INR1.5 billion.

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• Topics
• South Asia
• Technology
• Infrastructure
• IPO
• India
• TMT
• Exit
• TA Associates
• True North