Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries Ltd., which is making a name for itself in the entertainment sector, is likely to sign another agreement with the global streaming service Walt Disney. According to people with knowledge of the situation, Reliance Industries Ltd., owned by Asia's most wealthy mogul Mukesh Ambani, is close to concluding a share and cash deal to acquire Walt Disney Co.'s India business operations.
Following the transaction, the RIL is anticipated to have a controlling interest in the $10 billion (around Rs 83,000 crore) estimated value of the Disney Star company. The US entertainment behemoth will eventually own a minor portion of the company. According to people familiar with the situation who spoke to Bloomberg, Reliance values the assets at $7 billion to $8 billion.
Without going into further detail, the sources said that the deal might be disclosed as early as next month with some of Reliance's media divisions merging into Disney Star. The people said that under the proposal, Disney would probably keep a small ownership stake in the Indian business after deal is done.
Disney may still opt to hang onto the company's assets for a little while longer because no final decisions have been made regarding the agreement or the price, the source continued. When contacted for comment, neither a Reliance spokesperson nor a Disney representative in India responded.
After purchasing the broadcasting rights to the Indian Premier League for $2.7 billion in 2022, Ambani changed India's entertainment sector, as evidenced by the current discussions. The extremely popular cricket event was then decided to be broadcast earlier this year for free on the billionaire's JioCinema platform.
The HBO shows that were previously with Disney will now be broadcast in India by Warner Bros. Discovery Inc., giving Reliance yet another victory. The media company hasn't given up on the market and has been investing even as Disney Star battled with declining subscriber numbers.
