Reliance and Disney join forces on $8.5 billion media giant

Reliance, India's top conglomerate, and The Walt Disney Company, one of the world's leading entertainment companies, announced a major partnership in India.

The deal will merge the Reliance and Disney streaming and media assets, creating an $8.5 billion entertainment behemoth in the world's most populous nation.

Reliance will invest $1.4 billion (INR 11,500 crore) to fuel the growth strategy of the new joint venture, while Disney will get access to Indian cricket rights, something the US company was pulling money into for several years. The Reliance-Disney entity will have 120 TV channels and two streaming platforms, plus TV and streaming cricket rights for key tournaments in the country where the sport is incredibly popular.

According to analysts quoted by Reuters, the combined entity will create a sports behemoth in India. It will also give Reliance “great bargaining power” when it comes to negotiating advertisement contracts. Disney's partnership with such a company will give the US giant a cash cushion, said Jinesh Joshi, an analyst.

The companies valued the merged venture at $8.5 billion without further elaborating on how this amount was calculated. The entity will be headed by Nita Ambani, wife of Reliance owner Mukesh Ambani, who is also the richest man in Asia. Uday Shankar, former Chairman of Walt Disney India, will serve as Ambani's vice chair.

Reliance and Disney expect to reach over 750 million viewers across India and the Indian diaspora globally. Disney CEO Bob Iger said that “Reliance has a deep understanding of the Indian market and consumer,” and the deal would allow the US company to “better serve consumers with a broad portfolio of digital services and entertainment and sports”.

Source | Via