Disney has reached a deal to sell its 60% stake of Indian assets, including Disney Star and its Disney+ Hotstar streaming service, but it’s taking a major loss, according to The Wall Street Journal (a paywalled publication).
Under the new deal, the Indian media business is valued at $3.9 billion, according to The Wall Street Journal. The assets came over when Disney purchased 20th Century Fox for $71.3 billion in 2019. At the time of the sale, the business was valued between $7 and $16 billion, mostly due to the company’s cricket match coverage.
In December, the media giant agreed to sell its stake in Star Disney to Viacom18, a partnership between Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries, Bodhi Tree Systems, and Paramount Global.
This comes after Disney has been in talks to sell its India television assets, including its streaming service Disney+ Hotstar, since September. A number of companies were rumored to be interested in the sale, but from the start, Reliance was considered a potential buyer.
The media giant reportedly began considering a sale after losing its streaming rights to the Indian Premier League cricket tournament to Viacom18.
Under the $1.5 billion cash sale — the rest to be paid in stocks — Disney will maintain 40% share of Disney Star with Reliance and Bodhi Tree gaining 51% and 9%, respectively.
The sale will provide Disney with money to further its goal of getting back to profitability in its streaming services. Analysts predict Disney’s aggressive actions in 2023, including price hikes, budget cuts, layoffs, password crackdowns, and merging Disney+ with Hulu, will bring the media’s ledger back into the black by the first quarter of 2024.
Disney wasn’t immediately available for comment.
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