Firefly eVentures Ltd, the wholly owned Internet subsidiary of HT Media Ltd, has acquired social networking site Desimartini.com in an attempt to enter one of the fastest growing segments in the Indian Internet space. HT Media said the transaction was for less than $10 million.
“Localisation is the norm all around and as broadband penetration improves, we can see phenomenal opportunity and growth in the Internet in India. This acquisition in the social networking space is the first step towards expanding our Internet base. We are exploring other new online businesses such as gaming, e-commerce and classifieds,” said Amit Garg, Business head – Internet, HT Media.
Garg said HT Media plans to launch online portals in jobs, matrimonials, real estate and auto verticals – areas where the classifieds pages of newspapers currently dominate and where the Hindustan Times has a strong presence in some markets.
Desimartini.com, launched by Pahwa Knowledge Based Services late last year, is funded by the Pahwa group of companies and has a membership base of 250,000. It attracts around 2.5 million page views a month. Desimartini.com competes with homegrown players such as the Minglebox.com, Ibibo.com, Indyarocks.com, and Bigadda.com.
Users will experiment with multiple sites till they find one that suits them best, said Parijat Chakraborty, Vice-president, TNS Global, a business information and research firm. “The key is to carve a distinct niche and provide a good value proposition to the user,” Chakraborty added.
Source: Television Point