Disney is in talks to sell its India assets Bloomberg is reporting. The report says that Disney is in talks with Indian billionaires Gautam Adani and Sun TV Network owner Kalanithi Maran along with private equity firms to sell its streaming and television businesses in India.
There are several different possibilities that are being explored by Disney, including selling some of its Indiana operations or a mix of assets from the unit, people familiar with the matter shared with Bloomberg. At this point, discussions are in the early stages and there is no guarantee that a deal will happen. The report also did not share any potential value for the deal.
Reuters reached out to Disney, Sun TV, and also the Gautam Adani-controlled Adani group for comment but did not receive any answer. If this ends up being true, it continues to line up with reports that Disney was exploring options to either sell or find a joint venture partner for its Indian Digital and TV businesses.
The move comes as Disney continues to find itself feeling more pressure caused by Reliance Industries’ streaming platform JioCinema, run by Asia’s richest man, Mukesh Ambani. Ambani has been marketing the new streaming platform by offering free access to the Indian Premier League cricket tournament. Previously Disney owned the digital rights to this. Disney’s India streaming operations were its biggest last year globally in terms of users. However, it posted a loss of $41.5 million on revenue of $390 million for the year to March 2022 its last results disclosed.
Currently Disney is attempting to turn things around in the country by offering free cricket on smartphones with hopes that this will boost advertising revenue and offset its loss of subscribers.
Daps Magic will continue to follow this story and provide updates as they become available. What do you think of Disney selling some of its operations in India? Do you think it will help the company’s fortunes in the region? Share your thoughts and opinions in the comments below!
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