Private equity firm Blackstone has held preliminary discussions with Walt Disney about acquiring a stake in the entertainment company’s Indian unit, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters on Wednesday.
Blackstone is the latest buyer of Disney assets in the fiercely competitive Indian market and has been exploring the possibility of selling its digital and television businesses or forming a joint venture partner with the company.
Blackstone and Disney declined to comment.
Blackstone-backed U.S. media company Candle Media, founded by former Disney executives, led talks between the two parties last week, one of the sources said.
Indian newspaper The Economic Times first reported the talks earlier on Wednesday. Disney has also held talks with Indian billionaire Gautam Adani and Sun TV owner Kalanithi Maran, Bloomberg reported last week.
Disney is trying to revive the fortunes of its streaming business in India by offering free cricket on smartphones as subscriber withdrawals accelerate, betting the strategy will boost advertising revenue.
Meanwhile, Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s broadcast unit has lost rights to a number of major cricket tournaments, including the Indian Premier League and the national cricket team’s bilateral matches.
In July, reports surfaced that Disney’s Indian streaming service Disney+ Hotstar planned to begin implementing a policy that would allow its premium users to log in from just four devices to limit password sharing in key markets.
Disney rival Netflix in May began telling subscribers in more than 100 countries that they would have to pay more to share the service with people outside their households.
© Thomson Reuters 2023
Svlook
