Cyrus Mistry to line up Rs 2000 crore Tata Sky IPO soon

Mumbai: After Videocon d2h and Dish TV, now Tata Group's DTH service provider, Tata Sky, is planning to raise money from the equity market by way of an initial public offer (IPO).

While the Tata Group already has 29 listed companies on the Indian stock exchange, this will be the first IPO move by Chairman Cyrus Mistry since he took the helm in December 2012.

Mistry initially had plans of listing Tata Sky in 2013, but they were later shelved due to weak market conditions. The company will use the capital to fuel its growth plans and cut debt.

According to a report in a leading daily, this may go down as one of the biggest IPO fund mobilisation programmes in recent times. It is also the first IPO from the company since Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) was listed in 2004.

Morgan Stanley, Citi and Kotak Mahindra Capital are expected to be the fund managers for the IPO.

Currently, Tata Sons holds 51% in the company, with 21st Century Fox having 30%, Singapore's Temasek with 10% and Tata Opportunities Fund holding 9%.

While Tata Sons and Temasek will both be looking to trim part of its stake in the company, 21st Century Fox intends to retain its holding in the company.

Next week, the company's management team, board members, investors are likely to hold a meeting to discuss the red herring prospectus, the report said.