Providence Equity buys Star India's stake in Star CJ

Star India has sold its 50 per cent share in the JV with Korea's CJ O Shopping. STAR CJ will continue to use STAR's brand for up to one year.

Star HS, an affiliate of media and entertainment conglomerate STAR India, has sold its stake in STAR CJ Network India to Providence Equity Partners.

Star CJ Network India was the home shopping 50:50 joint venture of Star with Korea's CJ O Shopping, formed in 2009. It operates a 24x7 home shopping channel called "STAR CJ alive" and provides a web-based portal StarCJ.com to third party sellers who list their products for sale, reaching more than 50 million households and having added five million shoppers to its network within four and a half years of its operation.

As per the official communiqué from the company, STAR CJ will continue to use STAR's brand for up to one year. Uday Shankar, CEO of STAR India says, "STAR CJ provides world class home shopping experiences to consumers in India and has been a valuable investment for us. We and CJ have enjoyed an excellent working relationship and we expect this to continue unaffected by the sale."

Biswajit Subramanian, MD, Providence India says, "Providence is excited about partnering with CJ O Shopping, a global leader in TV home shopping. The significant TV home shopping market opportunity in India, STAR CJ's strong management team and CJ's deep domain expertise, all make this a compelling opportunity for us. We look forward to working with the STAR CJ team and adding lasting value to the company in the years ahead."

Kim Yun Koo, EVP, CJ O Shopping adds, "STAR India has been a close and valued partner for CJ O Shopping in building STAR CJ into a premier home shopping platform in India. CJ O Shopping looks forward to accelerating STAR CJ's growth and believes Providence will be a fantastic partner for the next chapter in this journey."

"We are happy to have Providence as our strategic and financial partner. It has been a pleasure and delight to deal with such a highly professional investment firm that shares our vision and understanding of the media as well as the home shopping industry. We are glad to cement this joint venture," Kenny Shin, CEO, STAR CJ says.

For the record, Providence is one of the leading private equity firms focused on media, communications, education and information investments. The firm claims to manage funds with $40 billion in commitments and has invested in more than 140 companies globally since its inception in 1989.