Disney said to be in talks with RIL over future of its India business

Two topmost leaders in both companies have had a direct discussion recently, said the sources. Bloomberg reported on Monday that Disney has held preliminary talks with potential buyers for its India business, including RIL. Earlier, the Wall Street Journal reported that the American media conglomerate is considering strategic options for its India business. Star India declined comment.

“As a policy, we do not comment on media speculation and rumours. Our company evaluates various opportunities on an ongoing basis,” an RIL spokesperson said.

“We have made and will continue to make necessary disclosures in compliance with our obligations under Securities Exchange Board of India (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations 2015 and our agreements with the stock exchanges.”
Under chief executive officer Bob Iger, Disney is reportedly considering multiple options for its India business, which include a joint venture (JV) with a strategic partner or an outright sale of Star India’s TV channels and Disney+ Hotstar streaming platform.While experts believe that the coming together of Star India and Viacom18 would be a gamechanging move in the Indian media and entertainment (M&E) industry, they add that the decline in the company’s digital business, Disney+ Hotstar, due to the loss of Indian Premier League (IPL) digital and India bilateral cricket media rights coupled with the massive sports rights liabilities (over $4 billion) could prove to be a dampener in putting together a deal.Since Star India is a costly asset and there aren’t enough companies in the Indian M&E market with the appetite for an acquisition of this scale, experts said it won’t be simple for Disney to find a strategic partner or buyer for the company other than RIL.The M&E market in India is getting consolidated further with Sony Pictures Networks India and Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd in the process of merging their businesses to create a $10 billion media behemoth. Even as Star India is facing challenges in its digital and sports businesses, the company’s TV entertainment business continues to perform well.