Creativeland Asia’s VC arm Ventureland buys Rolling Stone India publisher MW.com

Mumbai-based venture capital firm, Ventureland Asia Advisory Services, said on Monday it has acquired a controlling stake in MW.com India Pvt Ltd., for an undisclosed sum. 

MW.com publishes magazines like Rolling Stone India and MW (Man’s World) Magazines. Ventureland Asia, according to a statement, said it is planning to use its presence in areas of marketing, brand building, visual communications, and new-age technology to chart an omnichannel digital-oriented growth strategy for Rolling Stone India and MW.   

Till recently, MCPL was owned by publishing company Spenta Multimedia Pvt Ltd. MCPL has been publishing Rolling Stone India since 2008, while MW is in its 21st year of publishing.    

Ventureland Asia has remained active in the M&A space, having acquired a 40% stake in Revenant Esports. It has also invested in the e-commerce venture Saintfarm, a fund which focuses on segments like media, e-commerce, education, healthcare, agri-tech, and Esports.   

The acquisition has come at a time when the Indian media landscape is seeing a major churn. “It (the deal) is crucial as Rolling Stones India and MW work towards transforming into the platform-agnostic magazine,” said Editor-in-Chief Rolling Stone India and MW, Radhakrishnan Nair.  

“Rolling Stone India and Man’s World enjoy high levels of credibility and loyalty among their target audience. Piggybacking on that, we will bring in advanced tech interventions, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) to better understand the reader and transform the hardcopy publishing to an omnichannel digital-first magazine,” Sajan Raj Kurup, Creator-Investor and Founder, Ventureland Asia, said.   

Creativeland Asia, founded by Kurup in 2007, offers design solutions for brands including Cinthol, Godrej Expert, Godrej Masterbrand, Indeed.com, and Café Coffee Day.  Ventureland Asia was founded in 2017, an early-stage Rs 100 crore fund registered with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). The fund invests in e-commerce, education, healthcare, agritech, and esports.