In a mega-merger that will establish India's largest media and entertainment company, Disney has inked a nonbinding term sheet to sell billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries the majority of its India operations.
The Ambani-led consortium is expected to receive 51% of Disney's Star India business, compared to Disney's 49%, as a result of the stock-and-cash combination.
The value the two parties agreed to put on the company is still unknown. Earlier reports had Disney valuing the asset at about $10 billion, while Reliance had targeted it to be worth between $7 and $8 billion.
The report said the handshake deal was reached by Kevin Mayer, a former Disney executive tapped by Disney CEO Bob Iger in July to consult on strategy, and Manoj Modi, a trusted aide to Ambani.
Not long after the Hollywood strikes ended, the House of Mouse revealed the second round of significant budget cuts for the year, which included the studio looking into options for the property in July and putting $3 billion in content costs at risk. It was the next step after a previous round of budget cuts that saved Disney $5.5 billion and resulted in 7,000 job losses.