Reliance closes in on the acquisition of Disney's India business

One of India’s largest conglomerates, Reliance Industries Ltd., is planning to buy Disney Co.’s Indian operations.

Disney has been wanting to sell a controlling stake in the Disney Star business for a while now and has approached many suitors. It has been reported that Disney will budge on a price tag of $10 billion for the stake. Reliance Industries Ltd., on the other hand, values the asset at $7-8 billion.

The potential acquisition can be announced in November 2023, with some of Reliance's media units joining Disney Star.

It is very likely that Disney will still hold a minority stake in the asset after the transaction is completed. The final price or any other details of the deal have not yet been revealed.

Representatives from both companies have refused to comment on any matter regarding this deal.

Mukesh Ambani, chairman and managing director of Reliance Industries, has huge plans to control the entertainment industry in India. In 2022, he bought the streaming rights to the Indian Premier League for $2.7 billion. JioCinema, the streaming platform provided by Reliance, then started providing free service for the widely popular cricket tournament.

Earlier this year, Reliance bagged another huge deal. This time signing a multi-year deal to broadcast Warner Bros. Discovery Inc.’s HBO shows in India. This was earlier provided by Disney.

Disney Star has been struggling in the Indian markets for some time now, and even with decreasing subscriber numbers, the media group has been making some solid investments. It has been exploring various business areas, such as a straight-forward sale or a joint venture.

Disney’s India streaming platform, Disney+ Hotstar, still managed to attract a record 43 million viewers for the match between India and New Zealand played on Sunday, 22 October, 2023. This was much higher than the 35 million viewers it managed to pull during the highly rated game between India and Pakistan earlier this month.