With TV 18 coming on board with two seats, NRI steel magnate LN Mittal and Spain-based venture capitalist Harish Fabiani-part of the original investors who had together picked up 23 per cent-will dilute their stake to 17.3 per cent. The promoters and employees will now hold 56.7 per cent.

Speaking to eFE, Orbis Infotech co-chairman and chief executive officer Sameer Gehlaut said TV 18 will bring its domain experience in content creation to Indiabulls.

He said the company is presently in the process of putting in place offices abroad, as part of its brick-and-click business model. Over 35 such outlets are expected to be up and running by this year-end. This figure may go up to 100 by the end of next year. Mumbai itself will host eight such offices, Gehlaut said.

Indiabulls also seeks to tap the NRI market in the Middle East, UK and USA. Indiabull offices are set to come up in Dubai, London and New Jersey by the end of this year, Gehlaut said.

All the offices will be connected to each other through leased lines. Talks are on with several ISPs including Satyam Infoway and Caltiger to used their inter-city connectivity networks.

Gehlaut said Indiabulls will be a retail finance company and its services will be available through many channels including call centres, online, mobile phones and retail outlets.

In five months of operations Indiabulls claims to have logged over 5,000 online subscribers on to its finance services. Gehlaut said the company is expected to make profits by the second quarter of the next financial year. "We are currenty meeting our operational costs through revenue generated," he added.

First dot.com to set up an MF?
Indiabulls may well become the first dot.com company in India to venture into mutual funds. Indiabulls chief executive officer Sameer Gehlaut told eFE that plans were afoot to set up an Asset Management Company (AMC) and launch Indiabulls Mutual Fund schemes by early next year. "We will put in around $5 million over the next six months in setting up the AMC," Gehlaut said. Indiabulls plans to enter the market in partnership with other companies, he added. The company has already applied to SEBI to put in place a AMC.