In what could mark as one of the biggest events in the history of India’s nascent but surging digital media scene, U.S. media giant NewsCorp has signed a definitive agreement to buy prominent venture capital and financial news network, VCCircle.
Terms of the acquisition, which is expected to close in March, were not disclosed.
News Corp Chief Executive Robert Thomson says,
This important investment is a sign of our faith in India’s future and our enthusiasm for working with and building up emerging talents in the country. India is an increasingly meaningful part of our portfolio, which is itself increasingly digital and global.
VCCircle Network is owned by Mosaic Media Ventures Pvt Ltd and has about 100 employees across India, with its headquarters in Noida. Founder and CEO P.V. Sahad, and the management group, will become part of News Corp’s India team. Sahad will report to News Corp Senior Vice President, Strategy, Raju Narisetti.
Founded in 2005, VCCircle operates numerous, prominent websites, which includes the parent VCCircle.com, and the tech and start-up focused, TechCircle.in. Apart from these, Vccircle Network also holds regular events and conferences, which attracts some of the biggest names from India’s venture capital ecosystem. VCCircle also operates research platforms, VCCEdge and VCCircle training.
The VCCircle acquisition, the third by NewsCorp in India, builds on the media giant’s recent digital investments in India. In November, News Corp acquired a 25% stake in PropTiger.com, one of India’s leading online residential real estate platform.
In December same year, News Corp acquired BigDecisions.com, which aims to help Indian consumers make smarter financial decisions through interactive, decision-making tools powered by sophisticated algorithms and data. News Corp also has a presence across India through its Dow Jones, Wall Street Journal and HarperCollins Publishers businesses.
