Reliance Industries, controlled by Asia’s richest tycoon Mukesh Ambani, is nearing a cash and stock deal to acquire Walt Disney’s Indian operations, according to people familiar with the matter.
The American entertainment giant could sell a majority stake in Disney Star, which is valued at around $10 billion (nearly Rs. 83,100 crore). are private. Reliance estimates its assets to be between $7 billion (nearly Rs. 58,150 crore) and $8 billion (nearly Rs. 66,470 crore), some people said.
The acquisition could be announced as soon as next month, with some of Reliance’s media units merged into Disney Star, the people said, without giving further details.
Under the proposal, Disney is likely to retain a minority stake in the Indian company after any cash and stock swap transaction is completed, the people said. No final decision has been made on the deal or valuation, and Disney could still decide to hold on to the assets a little longer, she added.
Reliance is “continuously evaluating various options” and will make appropriate disclosures as necessary, a company spokesperson said in an emailed response. A Disney representative in India did not respond to a request for comment.
The deal talks are illustrative of Ambani’s disruption of the Indian entertainment industry after acquiring the streaming rights to the Indian Premier League for $2.7 billion (nearly Rs. 22,430 crore) in 2022. The billionaire’s JioCinema platform then opted to broadcast the hugely popular domestic cricket. tournament earlier this year for free.
Reliance then scored another win by inking a multi-year pact to air Warner Bros. HBO shows. Discovery in India, content previously with Disney.
Even when Disney Star struggled with declining subscriber numbers, the media group did not surrender the market and make investments. The company has been weighing other options for the business, including an outright sale or setting up a joint venture, Bloomberg News reported in July.
Still, Disney’s Indian streaming platform managed to attract a record 43 million viewers on Sunday for the 2023 men’s Cricket World Cup match between India and New Zealand, the company said in a statement. That was more than the 35 million viewers that the highly anticipated grudge match between India and Pakistan attracted earlier this month.
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