Mukesh Ambani’s company, Reliance Industries (RIL), is discussing merging its media business in India with Walt Disney Co, as per a report from The Economic Times.
Reliance’s Viacom18, a recently created division, is said to be planning to take in Disney’s Star India in January through a deal where they exchange shares, according to the ongoing discussions.
JioCinema, a part of Jio Studios, is becoming selective about its content choices. Meanwhile, Reliance might use cash to acquire a 51% share in the proposed Viacom18 unit, with Disney holding 49%. However, both parties are expected to have equal representation on the unit’s board, according to a newspaper report.
Viacom18 has partnered with SFA to broadcast school games.
In October, Bloomberg reported that Reliance’s entertainment division in India was assessing the value of Disney’s assets in India, including the Disney Hotstar streaming service and Star India, at around $7 billion to $8 billion.
During that period, Disney estimated the worth of the operations to be $10 billion.
A partnership between Sony and Disney might be more logical than a partnership between Sony and Zee.
Previously, Disney had explored possibilities to sell or seek a partner for its India assets. Reports suggested discussions with billionaires Gautam Adani and Kalanithi Maran, along with talks involving private equity firm Blackstone.
Yet, it’s possible that Disney will now sell a majority stake in the business to Reliance.
Reliance, which operates Viacom18 through its broadcasting venture, JioCinema, has intensified competition for Disney India and other streaming services. Ambani promoted the platform by offering free access to the IPL cricket tournament, whose digital rights were previously held by Disney.
Viacom18 secured BCCI media rights for ₹5,963 crore.