Disney CEO Bob Iger says India merger deal with Reliance is ‘best of both worlds

“We wanted to stay in India. We made a big investment in India when we purchased the assets of 21st Century Fox. We’re one of the biggest media companies in India. But even though it’s the most populous country in the world, and we felt we want to be there because of that, we also know that there are challenges in that market,” Iger said at a Morgan Stanley investor conference on March 5.

On February 28, Reliance Industriesannounced a joint venturewith Disney, which combines the businesses of Viacom18 and Star India to create one of India’s largest TV and digital streaming platforms.

Reliance Industries stated that it plans to merge the digital streaming and television assets of both companies in India to form a “world-class” leader across entertainment and sports.

RIL and its group companies will own a controlling stake in the entity and invest Rs 11,500 crore ($1.4 billion) for its growth strategy. The merged entity will have a valuation of Rs 70,352 crore ($8.5 billion) on a post-money basis.

Once the deal is completed, two of India’s largest streaming platforms – Disney+ Hotstar, which currently leads the country’s subscription-based video streaming market with 38.3 million subscribers, and JioCinema, a prominent player in the ad-supported video streaming market – will have a single owner.

Read:Reliance’s video streaming ambitions to get a boost with Hotstar-JioCinema combine

The combined entity will capture about 85 percent of India’s video-streaming audience, according to analysts at brokerage firm Bernstein.

Iger said the transaction would allow the US entertainment giant to own a part of a bigger media company in India, one of the world’s fastest-growing media and entertainment markets.