Cable TV
Goldman Sachs picks shares in Hathway worth Rs 52.6 crore
MUMBAI: The new year has started on a good note for multi system operator (MSO) Hathway Cable and Datacom. Hathway, which became the first MSO to have crossed the $1 billion mark in terms of enterprise valuation, has now attracted Goldman Sachs, which picked up 4.8 per cent stake in the company.
After investing Rs 600 crore in DEN Networks in 2013, this is Goldman Sachs second investment in Indian cable TV industry.
The company bought 80,93,268 shares of Hathway at Rs 65, amounting to Rs 52.6 crore on the National Stock Exchange (NSE).
The highest shareholder in the MSO is Macquarie Bank with 9.11 per cent stake. Other shareholders in the company include Reliance Capital (5.23 per cent), P6 Asia (Providence Equity Partners) (10.85 per cent) and CLSA Global (4.02 per cent) among others.
The news comes at the back of the MSO seeking shareholder’s approval for increasing its total foreign investment by Foreign Institutional Investors (FII) and Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPI) to 74 per cent from the current 49 per cent.
While Hathway had on 8 January got Board approval for increasing the foreign investment limit, subject to approval from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board of India, Ministry of Finance and/or the Reserve Bank of India, the MSO is now seeking the shareholders nod.
The Hathway Board has appointed Rathi and Associates Himanshu S Kamdar as scrutiniser for conducting the voting process through postal ballot. The company has also offered e-voting facility as an alternative. The last date for the ballots to reach Kamdar is 5 pm on 13 February.
MUMBAI: When margins wobble, liquidity talks and in Q3 FY25-26, cash did most of the talking. Den Networks Limited closed the December quarter with consolidated revenue of Rs.251 crore, marginally higher than the previous quarter but down 4 per cent year-on-year, even as profitability stayed resilient on the back of strong cash reserves and disciplined cost control.
Subscription income softened to Rs.98 crore, slipping 3 per cent sequentially and 14 per cent from last year, while placement and marketing income offered some cheer, rising 15 per cent quarter-on-quarter to Rs.148 crore. Total costs climbed faster than revenue, up 7 per cent QoQ to Rs.238 crore, driven largely by higher content costs and operating expenses. As a result, EBITDA dropped sharply to Rs.13 crore from Rs.19 crore in Q2 and Rs.28 crore a year ago, pulling margins down to 5 per cent.
Yet, the bottom line refused to blink. Profit after tax stood at Rs.40 crore, up 15 per cent sequentially and only marginally lower than last year’s Rs.42 crore. A healthy Rs.57 crore in other income helped cushion operating pressure, keeping profit before tax at Rs.48 crore, broadly stable quarter-on-quarter despite the tougher cost environment.
The real headline-grabber, however, sits on the balance sheet. The company remains debt-free, with cash and cash equivalents swelling to Rs.3,279 crore as of December 31, 2025. Net worth rose to Rs.3,748 crore, while online collections accounted for 97 per cent of total receipts, underscoring strong cash discipline across operations, including subsidiaries.
In short, while Q3 showed signs of operating strain, the financial backbone remains solid. With zero gross debt, steady profits and a formidable cash war chest, the company enters the next quarter with flexibility firmly on its side proving that in uncertain markets, balance sheet strength can be the best growth strategy.
