Disney may sell a controlling stake in the Disney Star business, which it values at around $10 billion, Bloomberg reported.
Disney is nearing a deal to sell its India operations to Reliance Industries , the Mukesh Ambani-controlled conglomerate whose streaming platform’s success has weighed on the U.S. company’s business, Bloomberg News reported on Monday.
Disney may sell a controlling stake in the Disney Star business, which it values at around $10 billion, rather than piecemeal transactions, Bloomberg reported, citing sources familiar with the matter.
However Reliance values the assets at between $7 billion and $8 billion, the report said.
The deal could be announced as early as next month and Disney will likely hold on to a minority stake in the Indian business, the report said. No final decision has been made on the deal or the valuation and Disney could still decide to hold onto the assets, Bloomberg reported.
Reliance’s streaming platform JioCinema has put increased pressure on Disney’s India streaming operations, with Ambani marketing his streaming platform by offering free access to the Indian Premier League cricket tournament, digital rights of which were earlier with Disney.
Earlier this year, Reliance also bagged another multi-year pact to broadcast Warner Bros Discovery Inc.’s HBO shows in India, content that was previously with Disney.
Despite suffering losses in India's entertainment industry, Disney Star continued to make investments in the market. It has been weighing other options for the business, including an outright sale or setting up a joint venture, Bloomberg News reported in July.
Sources: Bloomberg, Indian Express
