MUMBAI: Newspaper publisher HT Media on Monday said it has entered into a joint venture with a German media group, which publishes Elle and Playboy magazines, to set up printing press facility in the country.
HT Media and Hubert Burda media group have formed a joint venture to tap growing media platforms in India and Asia, the domestic firm said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange.
The printing facility, to be set up by the joint venture, would be located alongside HT Media's existing facility in New Delhi, the filing said. HT Media has 19 printing facilities across India.
"This venture enables us to bring global best practices and technology to the printing side of our business among other areas, and captures opportunities in the booming, high-end magazine and catalogue printing space in India and the Asia-Pacific region," HT Media CEO Rajiv Verma said.
Emphasising that the companies would explore other strategic areas of growth, he said the companies expect the joint venture to be profitable in the first full year of operation.
"A substantial portion of the business has already been secured as part of the JV," he added.
The JV also marks the German media firm's formal entry into the Indian market. It would outsource some of its global printing requirements to the joint venture, the filing added.
Impressed by the economic boom in India, Burda Media CEO Hubert Burda said, "We are considering further projects with HT Media in the Indian market."
Shares of HT Media were trading at Rs 123.50, down 1.28 per cent on the BSE.
