At a time when much speculation hangs over the company as a whole, Paramount Global has now sold its 13% stake in Viacom18 to Mumbai-based Reliance Industries, its major shareholder. Whatever this means for the future plans around Paramount itself, the deal does create an intriguing amount of speculation. Blake & Wang entertainment attorney in Los Angeles, Brandon Blake, is here with the latest news.
Sold to Majority Stakeholder
The deal is said to amount to roughly $517M, according to its securities filing. Reliance Industries is already the major shareholder for Viacom18, which also covers the Comedy Central, Colors, and MTV brands alongside streamer JioCinema.
Reliance was in the headlines in late February as they inked a deal with Disney to unite Disney’s Star India brand with Viacom18. This includes a juicy $1.4B investment, in a joint venture estimated to be worth $8.4B. Disney, in turn, will be offering a content license to the joint venture, and may offer up additional media assets “subject to regulatory and third-party approvals”. It also gives the joint venture exclusive distribution rights for Disney films and Indian productions.
Regulatory Scrutiny Incoming
Naturally, the deal will still need to pass regulatory scrutiny. Interestingly, it also hinges on the closing of the previous deal between Viacom 18, Reliance, and Star Disney. Once the deal passes, Paramount is said to still be licensing content to Viacom18.
Naturally, spin-off deals like this are far from rare in the entertainment landscape, but this one will attract particular attention, as many see it as preparation for some kind of larger move from Paramount Global amid merger speculation. While there are several names in the pot currently, including a $30B offer from Byron Allen and some interest from Warner Bros. Discovery, we have yet to achieve full clarity on their plans for the future. For now, this new deal will inevitably be seen as the opening volleys of something bigger to come. We can only wait and see from here.
