Comcast invests $200 million to gain foothold in India’s entertainment industry – Variety

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Comcastthe conglomerate behind NBCUniversal and Sky European television giants, will invest $200 million in Bodhi Tree Systems, a company backed by james murdoch With former Disney president Uday Shankar (Uday Shankar) India.

The move was approved by the Competition Commission of India on Wednesday. The funds will be used to buy a minority stake in Indian media conglomerate Viacom18.

The move is part of a complex series of deals that has brought Viacom 18 closer to Reliance Industries, the oil-based telecommunications conglomerate owned by Mukesh Ambani Now, the company has disrupted Indian media with its Jio cellular, broadband internet and streaming venture.

Linden was also behind Viacom18’s nearly $3 billion bid for the digital rights to the Indian Premier League, committing a total of $1.69 billion to Viacom18, including $538 million as an upfront payment.

The current deal for Linden is reportedly backed by a $250 million payment from the Qatar Investment Authority, Linden and Comcast. It is understood that Linden will raise the remainder of the $1.69 billion in funding from investors.

In a statement, Viacom18 said the deal would mean its stake would be 50.994 percent owned by TV18, 48.994 percent by Paramount Global and 0.11 percent by Bodhi Tree. In addition, Reliance Industries will own 82% of the convertible preferred shares in Viacom18 and Bodhi Tree will own the remaining 17.8%.

When all those shares are converted, fully diluted ownership looks a bit different: Reliance Industries will own 60.4%, TV18 13.5%, Bodhi Tree (and its backers) 13.1% and Paramount Global 13%.

Viacom 18 explained that it secured $1.89 billion in cash for its planned growth.It intends to use it to “innovate and disrupt the media and entertainment industry, with Shankar and Murdoch providing strategic and operational guidance [and] Leverage their track record of building iconic media businesses. “

The high-profile IPL cricket series is now streaming for free on JioCinema, in direct competition with Disney’s paid-for Star Television.

James Murdoch was chairman and chief executive of Star in Asia before Star was sold to Disney. He also served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Sky prior to its sale to Comcast.