MBL's IPO bidding to start from March 6

Jagran Prakashan’s subsidiary, Music Broadcast (MBL), has received an approval for its IPO’s red herring prospectus filed with the Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI), on February 23.

MBL will open for subscription for the public on Monday, March 6, 2017 and shall close on Wednesday, March 8, 2017.

MBL is in the process of raising Rs 400 crore through an IPO. It will be using the funds to pare its debts and fund its expansion.

MBL operates radio channels under the name ‘Radio City’ and ‘Radio Mantra’, in addition to operating its own online web radio portal planetradiocity.com. It currently operates close to 39 radio stations in six different languages. Its radio stations reach out to over 49.60 million listeners in the 23 cities. The company’s management is focusing on developing local content to expand its audience.

Listenership for its terrestrial FM stood at 4.9 crore. Radio industry growth is expected to be at a CAGR of 16.9 per cent from 2015 to 2020.

The share price of Jagran Prakashan decreased 1.41 per cent and closed at Rs 184.85 on Thursday.