RIL to acquire 61% stake in Walt Disney India: report

Walt Disney is reported to have agreed to sell 61 per cent of its India business to Viacom 18, the media arm of Reliance Industries Ltd, in what is seen as a major development in the Indian media and entertainment industry.

Following the acquisition, Viacom 18 and its affiliates will own 61 per cent shareholding in Disney India, which owns the Star Media Network.

While the deal value has not been revealed as yet, RIL is expected to pay Disney around Rs19,800 crore, or 61 per cent of its current valuation of Rs33,000 crore..

The merger move comes after Disney Plus Hotstar lost out to Jio Cinema in acquiring the rights to host the Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket tournaments.  

Hotstar, which saw a decline in subscriber base, also found it difficult to compete with Jio TV which offers low-cost entertainment to subscribers.

Reliance’s move comes after last month’s failed merger of Sony and Zee Entertainment over disagreements on leadership of the merged entity.

Disney’s decision to merge its media business comes after two failed attempts – the 1993 alliance with KK Modi’s Group, which was followed by the acquisition into Ronnie Screwvala’s UTV.

Disney, however, has not lost hope on the Indian market. Walt Disney CEO Iger had said on an earnings call in November last year that the company was “considering options” but that it would like to stay on in India and try and “strengthen our hand, improve the bottom line”.

Last month, Sony of Japan dropped its merger plan with Zee Entertainment ended due to disagreements regarding the leadership of the proposed merged media entity.