Newspaper giant raises US$82m

Skadden recently represented Citigroup Global Markets, Kotak Mahindra and Enam Securities in an US$82 million rule 144A/regulation S initial public offering by DB Corp.

DB Corp is the largest Hindi language newspaper group and one of the biggest newspaper groups in India. It has seven newspapers, 48 newspaper editions and 128 sub-editions in three languages in 11 states.

Rajeev Duggal, a partner at Skadden in Singapore who advised on the deal, told India Business Law Journal: “2009 was no doubt the year of the QIP [qualified institutional placement], by which a listed company sells shares in a follow-on offering to foreign and domestic qualified institutional buyers, or QIBs, on a discretionary basis, subject to a two-week trailing average floor price – particularly given that issuers can tap markets quickly, usually in four to six weeks, which was important given the volatile markets. It was terrific to be able to also get a quality IPO, which required significant lead time, done in 2009.”