Reliance is nearing a cash and stock deal to buy Walt Disney Co.’s India operations, according to reports. Walt Disney, US entertainment giant may sell a controlling stake in the Disney Star business, which it values at around $10 billion, as oppose to piecemeal transactions weighed earlier, the people familiar with the matter said, asking not to be name because the discussions are private.
Reliance views the assets at between $7 billion to $8 billion, as per some of the people said.
This acquisition could be announce as early as next month with some of Reliance’s media units merge into Disney Star, the people said, without providing further details.
Disney will likely continue to hold on to a minority stake in the Indian company after any cash and stock swap transaction is complete, as per people said.
No final decision has made on the deal or the valuation, and Disney could still decide to hold onto the assets for a bit longer, as per reports.
A representative for Disney in India didn’t respond to a request for comment and a spokesperson for Reliance decline to comment.
These deal talks are illustrative of Mukesh Ambani’s disruption of India’s entertainment industry after he scoop up the streaming rights to the Indian Premier League for $2.7 billion in 2022.
Mukesh Ambani, Bharti Airtel’s Sunil Mittal set to earn big from ODI World Cup 2023, here’s how
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JioCinema platform then chose to broadcast the highly popular domestic cricket tournament for free in 2023.
Reliance then bagging a multi-year pact to broadcast Warner Bros Discovery Inc.’s HBO shows in India, content that was previously with Disney.
While Disney Star struggle with sliding subscriber numbers.
It has been weighing other options for the business, including an outright sale or setting up a joint venture, as per reported in July.
Disney’s India streaming platform manage to draw in a record 43 million viewers on for the men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 match between India and New Zealand, the company.
That was higher than the 35 million viewership the highly anticipate India-Pakistan grudge match drew earlier this month.
