I-Venture eyes $50m stake in Shetty’s Adlabs Imagica

MUMBAI: India’s largest private equity fund ICICI Venture is in talks to invest $50 million in the entertainment industry veteran ManmohanShetty’s recently opened theme park AdlabsImagica, said people directly familiar with the matter. A serial entrepreneur , Shetty, who sold his Adlabs Films to Anil Ambani’s Reliance Group, wants to dilute 25-20 % equity stake in Imagica. The theme park company is looking to tap into the growing spends on outdoor entertainment among urban Indian fuelled by higher disposable incomes in the hands of the country’s middle class.

Shetty plans to take Imagica to other markets and has already purchased land for his next project in Hyderabad. ICICI Venture has offered a term sheet (a preliminary nonbinding agreement) for a potential investment into the entertainment theme park. However , Shetty and ICICI Venture need to sort out a valuation mismatch to clinch a definitive deal, sources added.

The Rs 1,600-crore project is spread across 300 acres located along the Mumbai-Pune expressway and opened to public in April. Shetty confirmed talks to raise funds but said no deal has been finalized yet. Vishakha Mulye, managing director & CEO of ICICI Venture, declined to comment on the development . “We cannot comment on specific deals,” she told TOI over the phone.

In an earlier interview with this newspaper, Shetty had said he is planning to hit the capital markets by 2014 to help Imagica expand the business to other geographies. South-based amusement park operator Wonderla, which operates parks and resorts in Bangalore and Kochi, has already filed its IPO papers with the market regulator to raise Rs 180 crore.

India’s amusement park industry is estimated at Rs 7,000 crore, growing at 15-20 % annually. Adlabs Imagica expects to house a water park, a hotel, retail and dining facilities within its premises. Ticketing would be the primary revenue stream while F&B, retail rentals and merchandising are other significant contributors.