James Murdoch's Bodhi Tree slashes planned investment in Reliance's Viacom18 (updated)

Network18 Media & Investments

14/04/2023 12:54

(Adds details on investment from a source)
       BENGALURU, April 14 (Reuters) - Reliance Industries
Ltd's  RELI.NS  Viacom18 will receive an investment of 43.06
billion rupees ($527.84 million) from Bodhi Tree, about 70% less
than what was planned by the joint venture between James Murdoch
and a former Star India executive.
    Viacom18 said in a statement late on Thursday that Reliance
was now leading the investment in the media company with a
108.39 billion rupees infusion.
    Last year, Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance had
said Qatar Investment Authority-backed Bodhi Tree would spend
135 billion rupees out of a planned 151.45 billion rupees
investment in Viacom18, also backed by Paramount Global
 PARA.O .
    The investment amount from Bodhi Tree was reduced due to a
broader funding squeeze amid a slowdown in dealmaking, a source
familiar with the matter said on Friday.
    A separate source close to Bodhi Tree told Reuters the
investments "are tranched and this is the first", adding it will
invest more funds. The person did not comment on the total
planned investment or a timeline.
    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 for dealmaking.
    Reliance, which is expanding in every sector from retail to
e-commerce, made a 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 IPL 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 and Shinjini Ganguli)
 ((Nandan.Mandayam@thomsonreuters.com; Mobile: +91 9591011727;))