According to a report from WSJ citing unnamed sources, Viacom18, backed by Reliance, has agreed to purchase 60% of Disney’s India unit. This deal is expected to pave the way for the formation of a $10 billion media conglomerate in the South Asian market.
The reported acquisition, set to be finalized this month, values Disney’s India unit at $3.9 billion, which is less than half of Disney’s initial expectation. Reliance declined to comment on its involvement with Disney earlier this week.
Viacom18 is a joint venture involving Reliance Industries, Paramount Global, and Bodhi Tree Systems, founded by James Murdoch. Under the agreement, Disney will retain a 40% ownership stake in its India unit, while Reliance will acquire a 51% share and Bodhi Tree will hold the remaining 9%, the report stated.
In 2019, Disney acquired 21st Century Fox’s entertainment assets for $71.3 billion, a move that notably included Star India.
This deal was a significant step in Disney’s global streaming expansion, granting it broadcast and streaming rights to the Indian Premier League cricket matches, a range of multi-language TV channels, and a stake in a Bollywood film production company. At the time of the acquisition, Star’s Hotstar had approximately 150 million active monthly users.
While Hotstar held a dominant position in the Indian video streaming landscape for several quarters, Viacom18, supported by Reliance, has gained traction by securing the five-year rights to stream IPL cricket matches for approximately $3 billion. Meanwhile, Disney paid the same amount for exclusive TV broadcasting rights to the content.
Over the past year, Reliance has recruited top leaders and engineering talent to enhance JioCinema and has enriched the on-demand streaming service with premium content from HBO and NBC.
The merger with Viacom18 brings together former Star India CEO Uday Shankar with James Murdoch, reuniting them in a business they both dedicated years to building. Murdoch played a key role in the growth of Star India during his time as chairman of its former parent Sky, which was part of Fox. Shankar served as CEO of Star India for a decade until 2020.
Shankar and Murdoch, who previously co-launched a fund called Lupa, established Bodhi Tree in 2021 with a backing of $1.7 billion from Qatar Investment Authority. Bodhi Tree initially agreed to invest $1.78 billion in Viacom18 but later reduced the size of the investment to around $528 million.
