Disney could be offloading its Indian operation in a deal valuing the business at $10B.
Bloomberg News reported that a deal to sell a majority stake to rival Reliance Industries was nearing completion. Citing unnamed sources close to the agreement, it reported Reliance values the assets it would acquire at between $7B-$8B, meaning Disney India is worth around $10B in total.
This follows months of rumors Disney would get rid of its Indian operation as its U.S. flagship operation reconfigures its global operation and attempts to bring down costs. News it could be sold or turned into a joint venture first emerged in July.
Disney has also held talks with Indian billionaires Gautam Adani and Kalanithi Maran, who owns Indian network Sun TV, along with private equity firm Blackstone, according to various reports in recent weeks, but it appears Reliance to set to win the race.
Disney’s Indian operation includes subscription streamer Disney+ Hotstar, which has shows such as The Night Manager India and Aarya, and an extensive networks biz.
A deal could be announced as soon as next month, though it’s possible Disney could decide to stick and not twist.
Through joint venture Viacom18, Reliance co-owns JioCinema, the low-cost streaming service that has been chipping away at Disney+ Hotstar’s streaming market dominance in the past year.
In recent years, Hotstar has a distance ahead of its rivals but JioCinema has in the past year bagged streaming rights to the ultra-popular IPL cricket league, and struck a deal for HBO’s premium content. Both previously went out through Hotstar and are considered to have helped JioCinema’s user base grow as its rival’s has fallen sharply.
Disney also has a significant linear TV operation in India, which may not be a good structural fit going forwards. In the same week rumors of a Disney India sale emerged, Disney CEO Bob Iger told CNBC that the model was “definitely broken.”
Disney declined to comment, while Reliance had not responded to requests for comment at press time.
