Reliance

Viacom18 Stake to be Acquired by Reliance from Paramount Global for More than $500M

Paramount
Paramount Global has reached a binding agreement to sell its stake in Reliance-controlled Indian media house Viacom18 to Reliance for $517 million, both companies said Wednesday. The deal will increase Reliance’s stake in Viacom18, which operates dozens of TV channels as well as streaming service JioCinema, to 70.49%, Reliance said in its disclosure. Law firm JSA Associates said late last month that it was advising the two firms for the deal. The move follows Disney announcing plans to merge its India business with Viacom18 late last month. Viacom18 also counts Bodhi Tree, an investment firm run by James Murdoch and Uday Shankar, among its backers.

“Groundbreaking Partnership: Reliance and Disney Join Forces in India Media, Creating $8.5 Billion Joint Venture”

Gettyimages 142507970
Reliance, its portfolio Viacom18 and Disney are merging their media businesses in India, creating the largest media entity in the South Asian market. Reliance will control and own 16.34% of the joint venture, which it has valued at $8.5 billion. Reliance, which is India’s most valuable firm, said it sees an opportunity to expand and streamline its presence in the Indian fast-growing market by merging its media assets with Disney India. Reliance, which owns more than 60% in Viacom18, plans to invest $1.4 billion into the joint venture for its growth strategy. The “strategic” merger of Reliance and Disney India also unites two leading Indian streamers, JioCinema and Disney+Hotstar.

Dunzo Under Consideration for Acquisition by Flipkart

Flipkart Techcrunch
Indian e-commerce giant Flipkart has held discussions in recent weeks about potentially acquiring Dunzo, the hyperlocal delivery startup backed by Reliance Retail, three sources familiar with the matter told TechCrunch. The acquisition talks follow a turbulent year at Dunzo, which has been struggling to raise cash and make staff payroll. Flipkart is skeptical about precisely what all it will be able to take over if it were to acquire Dunzo. Reliance Retail, the largest investor in Dunzo, has also not approved the deal. Flipkart and Dunzo didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday evening.

Bank of America Increases Jio Platforms’ Valuation to Over $100 Billion with Help from Meta and Google

Gettyimages 1227124572
The valuation reassessment comes at a time when Reliance is expected to undertake initial public offerings for both Jio Platforms and Reliance Retail. In 2020, Jio Platforms raised over $20 billion from a series of investments by companies like Meta, Google, Silver Lake, Vista Equity Partners and others. Reliance Retail, which raised about $7 billion in 2020, recently raised about $1.85 billion at $100 billion valuation. The investment bank also expects the Indian telecom industry to hike tariff in the second half of the year, it said. “On enterprise business we see three areas where Jio Platforms could capitalize on: government contracts, SMEs and corporates (by offering VAS),” BofA added.