According to a Bloomberg report, Walt Disney Co. is in preliminary discussions with buyers for its Indian streaming and television operations, including billionaires Gautam Adani and Kalanithi Maran.
In light of the fact that the US entertainment giant is considering a number of options, including the possibility of selling a portion of its Indian operations or a combination of the unit’s assets, including sports rights and the regional streaming service Disney Hotstar, senior executives have also evaluated the interest of private equity funds, according to the report.
Asset-sale negotiations
According to a previous report by Bloomberg News, asset-sale negotiations have already taken place with the Reliance Industries Ltd. owned by billionaire Mukesh Ambani. After losing the streaming rights to the Indian Premier League cricket event to Viacom18 Media Pvt. in July, Bloomberg News reported that Disney has been considering strategic options for its business in India, including an outright sale or the formation of a joint venture.
Reliance, Paramount Global, and Uday Shankar’s investment company Bodhi Tree Systems are partners in the creation of Viacom. The Sun TV Network Ltd. broadcasting company owned by Maran would benefit from a potential acquisition, and the Adani Group might use it to grow its recently acquired New Delhi Television Ltd. According to the report, the discussions are still in a very early stage, and a deal might not be reached.
Change in market dynamics
The discussions around Disney’s India unit’s sale show how the market dynamics have changed since Ambani’s company purchased the Indian Premier League’s streaming rights for $2.7 billion and decided to broadcast it for free earlier this year. According to the article, Reliance gained another victory by signing a multi-year deal to transmit HBO and other programming that was formerly with Disney on behalf of Warner Bros. Discovery Inc.
Disney is now following Reliance’s lead and streaming the current Cricket World Cup in India for free. This move is intended to win back some users, even if it means forgoing money in the 1.4 billion-person cricket-crazy country.
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