Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) is in preliminary discussions with Walt Disney Co. to acquire the latter's India business.
SPE is a subsidiary of Japan’s Sony Group Corporation. The company is looking to acquire Disney India as part of its contingency plan if its deal with Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL) does not go through or faces further delays, according to a report by Mint.
India's top entertainment firm is Disney Star. It runs the well-known Disney+Hotstar online streaming service as well as more than 70 multilingual TV channels. Reliance Industries (owner of Viacom18), the Adani Group, and Sun TV Network are a few organizations that have looked about buying Disney's Indian operations whole or in part.
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Given the changing media and entertainment scene internationally and in India, industry experts predicted that Disney's India operation may only fetch a fraction of its previous worth. The sports and internet sectors have lost money, while the entertainment industry makes over $500 million in profits. Star India was worth $17 billion when it was acquired by Disney as part of its $71.3 billion deal to purchase Rupert Murdoch-owned 21st Century Fox.
People close to the matter have informed that Sony's top brass in Japan is frustrated with the Sony-ZEEL merger that was expected to be done by 31 March 2022 but is still hanging in the balance. This has led the Sony's bosses to think of a plan B. The company will act fast in acquiring Disney India, if the Sony-ZEEL merger takes more time due to inordinate delays or if it is shelved.
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