Adar Poonawala buys 50% stake in Bollywood studio for Rs1,000 cr

Adar Poonawalla, CEO of the world’s largest vaccine maker, Serum Institute of India (SII), has agreed to buy a 50 per cent stake in Bollywood film studio Dharam Productions for Rs1,000 crore.

Serene Productions, a content production company owned by Poonawala will make the acquisition, according to a press release issued by Dharam Productions.

While the investment in Bollywood by a vaccine manufacturing company may seem quite unlikely,Poonawala is making use of his resources in some other productive investments. 

Serum institute is sitting on a cash pile from vaccine sales during the Covid pandemic and the sale of some other vaccines that followed and needs to make use of that money. 

Given the capacity of Bollywood to generate revenue and profit, the investment in Dharam Productions, which is owned by Karan Johar, a key figure in Bollywood, can be a rewarding proposition.

For Karan Johar, the deal is important as his production company’s revenue and profit have been steadily declining. 

Dharma Production’s profit plummeted 94.5 per cent year-on-year to Rs59 lakh in the financial year ended 31 March 2024, also its lowest in 10 years.

Consolidated revenue for the year was also down 50.2 per cent at Rs520.2 crore, while revenue from its core business of film distribution and exhibition and other distribution rights nosedived by 83 per cent to Rs111.38 crore.

Johar had, earlier, held talks with other entertainment companies, including Saregama and Reliance Industries’ Jio Cenema to monetise his Dharma stake. 

For Poonawala, this is his second acquisition in the media and entertainment space after his 2021 acquisition of 20 per cent stake in social media platform Wakau Interactive.