James Murdoch's Bodhi Tree slashes planned investment in Reliance JV Viacom18

Bodhi Tree Multimedia

14/04/2023 06:58

BENGALURU, April 14 (Reuters) - Bodhi Tree, a joint
venture between James Murdoch and a former Star India executive,
has reduced its planned investment in Reliance's  RELI.NS 
broadcast venture Viacom18 by 70% and will now pump in 43.06
billion rupees ($527.84 million), Viacom18 said late on
Thursday.
    Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries had
said in April last year that Qatar Investment Authority-backed
Bodhi Tree would spend 135 billion rupees out of a planned
151.45 billion rupees investment in the media behemoth that is
also backed by Paramount Global  PARA.O .
    Reliance is now leading the investment with a 108.39 billion
rupees infusion.
    A source familiar with the matter said the investment amount
was reduced due to a broader funding squeeze amid a slowdown in
dealmaking. 
    Global mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity shrank to the
lowest level in more than a decade in the first quarter of 2023,
as rising interest rates, high inflation and fears of a
recession soured the appetite of companies for dealmaking.
    Reliance, which is expanding in every sector from retail to
ecommerce, made its big splash in the Indian streaming space
last year, with its acquisition of digital streaming rights for
the Indian Premier League T20 cricket tournament from 2023 to
2027. 
    All matches are currently streamed free of cost for viewers
on Viacom18-owned JioCinema. The FIFA World Cup in Qatar last
year was also streamed for free.

($1 = 81.5780 Indian rupees)

 (Reporting by Aditya Kalra in New Delhi and Nandan Mandayam in
Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)
 ((Nandan.Mandayam@thomsonreuters.com; Mobile: +91 9591011727;))