Yahoo News Paramount Global Sells Stake in Viacom18 for $517M
Paramount Global has agreed to sell its 13 percent stake in Indian media company Viacom18 to Reliance Industries.
The sale price is approximately $517 million, according to a new securities filing. Reliance, a multinational conglomerate, is already the majority shareholder in Viacom18.
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Existing properties at Viacom18 include streaming service JioCinema and channels including Colors, Comedy Central and MTV.
In late February, Disney inked a deal with Reliance Industries to form a joint venture that brings together Reliance’s Viacom18 and Disney’s Star India.
Under the terms of that deal, Reliance will invest $1.4 billion into the JV, which is valued at $8.5 billion. Disney will provide a content license to the JV, and “may also contribute certain additional media assets to the JV, subject to regulatory and third-party approvals,” the company says. The JV will also have the exclusive right to distribute Disney films and productions in India.
The closing of Paramount’s Viacom deal is subject to regulatory conditions, as well as the “completion of a previously announced joint venture involving Reliance, Viacom18 and Star Disney,” according to the filing.
After closing, Paramount will still license its content to Viacom18.
The deal comes as Paramount’s own future remains uncertain. In December, the studio held talks with Warner Bros. Discovery about a possible merger, a source confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter. More recently, media mogul Byron Allen submitted a $30 billion offer, including debt and equity, for Paramount Global.
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