RadioandMusic
| 20 Apr 2024
Guvera retains India while downsizing to 10 markets

MUMBAI: The first-half of 2016 welcomed Guvera with a lot of hopes and ambitions, but the gradual run into the year exposed the Australia-based streaming service to hard-hitting realities. The company was denied its latest IPO worth $80mn and the eight-year-old organisation relied on its plan B to ensure the latest development did not snowball into yet another major upset.

Guvera’s emphasis on the Indian market continues as the decision to cut down on existing markets does not involve its largest user-base, Indonesia, UAE, Philippines, Vietnam and Australia. Cutting down to ten markets however means it will lose out on half of its global outreach so far. COO of Guvera – India & Middle East Ananya Amin said, “On the strategic front, we will continue our focus on brand integration and the emphasis on emerging markets. The cut-down is nothing but a strategic alternative after the unfortunate rejected-IPO from the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX).”

About the reason behind the focus on the retained markets that account for 90 per cent of the service’s users, Amin explained, “India has been a fine example of Guvera’s growth and success in emerging markets. We are now close to renewing our contract with Hungama. We have complete faith in these emerging markets.”

Billboard reported that the streaming service had placed two of its subsidiaries under administration, as Guvera Australia and Guvera services will be closed. The two subsidiaries deal with Guvera’s business in international markets, and the latest reports confirm that global professional service firm Deloitte has been roped in to lead an international restructure.

The skepticism from home continued as media and analysts doubted Guvera’s ability to grow citing the major debts and last year’s financial losses, however Amin emphasised that “Guvera is in a good position to work on its strengths. And there will be no change in its strategies towards emerging markets.”