(13 March 2010 9:35 pm)

MUMBAI: Dish TV is sitting on a cash pile of Rs 9 billion, following the completion of the third tranche of its rights issue.

The Essel Group-promoted direct-to-home (DTH) company has raised Rs 4.16 billion in the third and final tranche.

Dish TV had raised Rs 7.24 billion in the first two tranches.

Earlier, Dish TV had received a funding of $100 million (Rs 4.65 billion) from US-based Apollo Management through a GDR (Global Depositary Receipt) issue.

"We are sitting on a cash of Rs 9 billion. This has come from rights issue and GDR. We will use the fund for customer acquisitions," Dish TV MD Jawahar Goel tells Indiantelevision.com.

The promoters' holding in Dish TV is 68 per cent, while Apollo has 11 per cent.

With this funding in place, market leader Dish TV will be aggressively ramping up its subscriber base.