Paramount in talks to sell Viacom18 stake to Reliance Industries: Report

Paramount is reportedly in talks to sell its stake in Viamcom18 media group to Reliance Industries, both companies are a part of Mukesh Amabni-run empire.

As per a Bloomberg report the stake sale could translate to $550 million that Paramount could use toward debt reduction. Paramount currently holds a 13% stake in Viacom18

The report indicates that the talks are still in the final stage and may not finalize soon.

This after Reliance and Disney agreed to a $8.5 billion merger earlier. The merger will result in an entity that is supposed to dominate more than 50% of the Movies, shows, etc consumer base in India. Media reports suggest that Disney's India business when merged with Reliance's Jio Cinema and other Reliance platforms could pose a serious threat to major players like Netflix and Amazon Prime.

Reliance and its affiliated companies will hold 63% ownership in the newly established $8.5 billion media entity, while Disney will retain the remaining stake. Due to this, Paramount's share, facilitated through Viacom18, will shrink as a result of the revised agreement, reported Bloomberg.

Also Watch: Reliance-Disney merged entity to capture more than 50% of market share: Report