Disney’s India Business Finalizes Merger with Reliance
The Walt Disney Company is nearing a deal that will see its India media business merge with billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance.
The new deal would see Ambani control a 51%-54% stake in the new conglomerate and value Disney’s India operations at $3.5 billion.
Photo: Hindustan Times
That valuation is far from the $15-$16 billion that the India unit was valued at when Disney acquired it in 2019.
Bodhi Tree Will Have a Stake in the New Entity
Despite being the largest streaming service in India, Disney’s Hotstar streamer has seen an exodus of subscribers after losing cricket streaming rights to Ambani.
According to Reuters, Bodhi Tree, a joint venture between James Murdoch and former Disney executive Uday Shankar, will take a 9% stake in the new entity. Disney will then hold the remaining 40%.
Photo: Bodhi Tree
The new joint venture created by Reliance and Disney will become the predominant force in Indian media. Both companies currently have a popular streaming service, and between them, they hold 120 linear television channels.
The deal between Disney and Reliance was ironed out by former Disney executive and current Bob Iger advisor Kevin Mayer and Reliance’s Manoj Modi.
Photo: TheWrap.com
The valuation of Disney’s India assets took a major hit when Zee Entertainment reneged on a $1.4 billion cricket television rights deal with Disney.
Anti-Trust Concerns Remain
While Disney and Reliance have ironed out a merger pact, the completion of the deal will still rely on passing antitrust challenges.
Photo: Disney
The good news for Disney is that with the collapse of a proposed merger between Sony and Zee, regulators will likely look more favorably on the Disney-Reliance merger.
“With the collapse of the Zee–Sony merger, the market will now be less concentrated, making it easier for Disney-Reliance,” said Karan Singh Chandhiok, head of competition law at Indian law firm Chandhiok & Mahajan.
Thanks for visiting MickeyBlog.com! Want to go to Disney? For a FREE quote on your next Disney vacation, please fill out the form below, and one of the agents from MickeyTravels, a Diamond Level Authorized Disney Vacation Planner, will be in touch soon! Also, thanks for reading!
