Disney's Indian operations are expected to be acquired by Reliance in a multibillion dollar deal.

Oct 24 :
Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries Ltd. is allegedly close to completing a multibillion dollar agreement with Walt Disney Co. to purchase Disney's Indian operations. After the deal, Reliance Industries—whose estimated worth is $10 billion—should be able to acquire a majority position in the Disney Star company. Walt Disney Co. will continue to own a small portion of the company. There is a disparity in the assets' worth, too, since Reliance values them between $7 billion and $8 billion. Next month, the two businesses are expected to make an announcement about this significant acquisition. If Reliance integrates parts of its media divisions with Disney Star, there may be room for additional consolidation.

The terms and valuation of the deal are still pending final agreement. Disney is probably going to keep a small equity in the Indian company after the cash and stock transaction. Additionally, Disney might decide to hang onto the assets for a long time. Requests for comment have not yet received a response from Disney's Indian office, while a Reliance official declined to comment.

Mukesh Ambani has been progressively becoming more well-known in the entertainment sector. Reliance notably paid an astounding $2.7 billion in 2022 to acquire the streaming rights to the Indian Premier League. The popular domestic cricket tournament was then televised for free on Ambani's JioCinema platform, further upending the market.

Additionally, Reliance obtained a multi-year contract to broadcast HBO series from Warner Bros Discovery Inc.—previously owned by Disney—in India. Disney Star is struggling with dwindling subscriber numbers, but the media conglomerate has kept funding the company and looking at different economic strategies, such as an outright sale or possible joint ventures.