Paramount Global Sells 13% Stake in India’s Viacom18 to Reliance for $517 Million
variety.comTodd Spangler NY Digital Editor Paramount Global has sold its 13% ownership stake in TV and streaming company Viacom18 to Reliance Industries for $517 million.
Reliance was already the majority owner of Viacom18. The pact comes two weeks after Disney and Reliance Industries announced a blockbuster $8.5 billion deal merging their massive Indian TV and streaming businesses.
As part of that agreement, Reliance’s Viacom18 is merging with Disney’s Star India. On March 13, Paramount Global entered an agreement with Reliance Industries to sell Paramount’s entire 13.01% equity interest in Viacom18 for the equivalent to approximately $517 million based on the current foreign exchange rate, according to a filing with the SEC on Wednesday.
Bodhi Tree, a company controlled by former Disney India chair Uday Shankar and James Murdoch, owns 15.97% of Viacom18. Viacom18 calls itself “one of India’s fastest growing entertainment networks.” The business includes a portfolio of 38 channels across general entertainment, movies, sports, youth, music and kids genres.
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