Paramount Global's 13% ownership in India’s Viacom18 is being sold to majority shareholder Reliance Industries for $517 million.
The completion of the sale depends on meeting certain usual conditions and getting regulatory approvals. It also depends on the finalization of a previously announced partnership involving Reliance, Viacom18, and Disney’s Star. Aforementioned joint venture involves Reliance, Viacom18, and Disney’s Star., as per an 8K report filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Viacom18, which is also owned by Bodhi Tree Systems, manages the streaming platform JioCinema and provides 38 television channels covering general entertainment, movies, sports, youth, music, and kids programming.
Following the sale, Paramount will continue to license its content to the joint venture.
This sale brings in fresh cash for the media conglomerate, run by CEO Bob Bakish and owned by Shari Redstone’s National Amusements.
It also comes at a time when there are talks about Paramount possibly becoming an acquisition target, with potential buyers such as Skydance Media, Byron Allen, and Apollo Global Management showing interest in its portfolio of assets, including Paramount Pictures, Paramount+, CBS, and networks like MTV, Comedy Central, and Nickelodeon.
This recent non-core asset sale from Paramount follows its earlier divestment of publisher Simon & Schuster, mixed martial arts promoter Bellator, and some real estate properties.
Bakish has stated that Paramount will focus on increasing earnings growth in 2024. This includes reducing international and local original content, making use of content licensing, and reducing the workforce. Last month, the company announced it would lay off as many as 800 employees.
Paramount is expecting to have around $1 billion in programming and restructuring charges in the first quarter of 2024, with approximately $200 million linked to the restructuring.
In the new agreement with Disney, Reliance will combine Hotstar with entertainment and sports assets Colors, StarPlus, StarGOLD, Star Sports, and Sports 18.
The combined entity will also have the exclusive rights to distribute Disney films and productions in India, with a license for over 30,000 content assets. The joint venture will serve over 750 million viewers in India and the Indian diaspora globally.
Disney will own 37% of the company, while Reliance and Viacom18 will have a combined 63% ownership.
More details to follow…
