Aksh Optifibre to raise $15-20 million this fiscal

By Ruchika Sharma (VCCircle.com)

The company also plans to raise around $40-50 million in the next three years.

New Delhi based optic fiber manufacturer Aksh Optifibre Ltd. is planning to raise $15-20 million through a mix of debt and equity this fiscal, reports Dow Jones.

The funds will be utilised in the company’s new businesses in its service division that include IPTV (Internet Protocol Television) and VoIP (voice-over Internet phone) services. The investments in the businesses are expected to step up their customer acquisitions.

The company also plans to raise around $40-50 million in the next three years, the report says.

The company provides the IPTV and VoIP services to Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd. on a revenue share basis. Internet-based services accounted for less than 2% of the company's Rs 264 crore ($54.4 million) revenue in the 18-month extended fiscal year ended March 31.

The company has a total of 30,000 subscribers for IPTV and VoIP services across 22 cities. It expects the number to rise to 400,000 in three years. The company also plans to hive off its optic fiber manufacturing unit into a separate unit, Aksh Technologies Ltd.

The process is expected to be completed in next 8 weeks. The business is being separated as the returns are limited due to high raw-material cost though the demand for optic-fiber is rising.

The report further says that the company also plans to start manufacturing set top boxes in India to decode the internet television signals. The company will start manufacturing the set top boxes as soon as it crosses 50,000 users for its IPTV, which is expected to happen in about 3-4 months.