Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) is reportedly close to striking a multibillion-dollar deal in cash and stock to acquire Walt Disney’s India operations.
The US entertainment giant has been exploring options for its television business in India that had included an outright sale or a joint venture since July. This has led to a buzz of either Mukesh Ambani or Gautam Adani vying for the business.
According to a Bloomberg report, Disney may sell a controlling stake in the Disney Star business, value of which it feels is $10 billion.
On the other hand, Reliance the report added, views the assets at between $7 billion and $8 billion. If talks proceed ahead without any hindrance particularly on the valuation front, the acquisition could be announced as early as next month with some of Reliance’s media units merged into Disney Star.
The options which Disney was looking at earlier included acquisition of its entire or a combination of its assets comprising of sports rights and regional streaming service Disney+ Hotstar.
The US major will now reportedly hold on to a minority stake in the domestic company after the potential transaction. here. The report said that no final decision has been made on the deal or the valuation, and Disney could still decide to hold on to the assets for a longer period.
For Reliance, any potential deal will boost Viacom18 which is a joint venture with Paramount Global. One of the main focus areas for Viacom18 has been in sports where it has built a strong portfolio, including highly popular properties.
According to RIL’s annual report for 2022-23, this includes digital streaming rights for IPL (2023-27 seasons), Women Premier League (2023-2027), international cricket matches in South Africa (2024-2031), and SA20 (South Africa’s T20 league, 2023-2032). It also has brands like CNBC TV18, News18, Colors, MoneyControl and MTV, among others under its belt.
In 2014, Reliance had acquired Network18 for up to Rs 4,000 crore. Six years later it consolidated its media and distribution properties under a single umbrella of Network18.
In 2022-23, RIL’s media & entertainment business saw headwinds and soft ad environment that resulted in a 5.8 per cent rise in operating revenue.
