SS Channel: The spicy southern channel

Chennai-based SS Channel readies itself for a takeover by Viacom – the group that owns MTV channel, writes Venkatachari Jagannathan

Contrary to the normal traces of worries and uncertainities among the executives of any company being considered for takeover, the 60 strong team, with an average age of 27, at the multilingual Southern Spice Music Channel (SS Channel) is gung ho.

The city-based youth channel (promoted by Fortune Media Private Limited) is ready to be sold to Viacom – the global satellite channel group, which also owns the MTV channel. Fortune Media / SS Channel has an equity of Rs5 crore which Viacom is thinking of acquiring.

On the other hand, the SS channel team feels a sense of achievement for making Viacom salivate at its Rs2-crore enterprise. The company earns an average profit of 18 per cent of the revenues.

Says B D Ramesh Babu, president, "Last year Viacom came to us with a proposal to collaborate. We also wanted to have a joint venture with a big name. Initially we thought of divesting just 15 per cent and later agreed to divest 51 per cent. But now Viacom wants the entire company as it is their global policy not to have joint ventures."

Viacom is yet to freeze its price for SS Channel while Babu says that the channel promoters would like to have atleast $10 million. "That is negotiable," he adds. Curiously, the promoters of Fortune Media haven't done any systematic enterprise valuation.