James Murdoch, son of media baron Rupert Murdoch, and Uday Shankar, former Star and Disney India chairman, are in talks to acquire nearly 40% stake in Viacom18, it is rumoured. ViacomCBS, which owns 49% stake in Viacom18, is likely to sell a small part of its stake while Reliance Industries-owned TV18 will continue to hold a majority stake, it is believed. ViacomCBS’ stake may go down to 10% after the offloading by it. A few financial investors may also buy stakes, besides the Murdoch-Shankar duo which is coming in as a strategic investor.
The deal will reportedly include primary and secondary infusion of more than Rs. 12,000 crore in Viacom18 from the investors at a valuation of around $4 billion (Rs. 30,000 crore). The major part of the investment is likely to be by way of primary infusion of funds.
Vaicom18, it is believed, needs the funds to compete with the two major players viz. Star-Disney India and Sony-Zee (after merger).