According to persons familiar with the subject, Reliance Industries Ltd., controlled by Asia’s richest tycoon Mukesh Ambani, is approaching a cash and equity deal to acquire Walt Disney Co.’s India assets.
The US entertainment conglomerate may sell a full stake in the Disney Star company, which it values at roughly $10 billion, rather than the piecemeal trades considered previously, according to people who asked not to be identified because the conversations are confidential. According to some of the sources, Reliance values the assets at $7 billion to $8 billion.
According to the sources, the acquisition could be disclosed as early as next month, with some of Reliance’s media divisions integrated into Disney Star.
According to the people familiar with the proposal, Disney will likely retain a minority ownership in the Indian company once any cash and stock swap transaction is finalized. There has been no final decision on the deal or the valuation, and Disney may decide to keep the assets for a while longer, they noted.
Reliance “evaluates various opportunities on an ongoing basis” and will provide relevant disclosures as needed, according to an emailed response from a company representative. A Disney spokesperson in India did not respond to a request for comment.
The talks are an example of Ambani’s disruption of India’s entertainment business, which began when he purchased the streaming rights to the Indian Premier League for $2.7 billion in 2022. Earlier Indian year, the billionaire’s JioCinema platform chose to show the extremely popular local cricket league for free.
Reliance then secured a multi-year deal to broadcast Warner Bros Discovery Inc.’s HBO series in India, programming that was previously with Disney.
Despite struggling with declining subscription numbers, Disney Star has not given up on the market and has kept investing. According to Bloomberg News, the company has been considering other options for the business, such as an outright sale or the formation of a joint venture.
Nonetheless, Disney’s India streaming platform attracted a record 43 million viewers on Sunday for the men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 match between India and New Zealand, according to a company statement. This was more than the 35 million spectators who watched the highly anticipated India-Pakistan match earlier this month.