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By Baiju Kalesh and P R Sanjai
Tata Group is considering buying Walt Disney Co.’s stake in Tata Play Ltd. to give it full control of the subscription television broadcaster, people familiar with the matter said, continuing a shakeup in India’s media industry.
The companies are in preliminary talks about an acquisition of Disney’s significant minority stake, which would value Tata Play at about $1 billion or more, the people said, asking not to be identified as the considerations are private. Tata may decide not to pursue a deal, they said.
Representatives for Tata and Disney declined to comment.
The buyback discussions with Disney come after the American company signed a binding agreement in late February to merge its India unit with billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s media arm Viacom 18 Media Pvt., creating an $8.5 billion entertainment giant that will have 750 million viewers and dominate the sector in the world’s most-populous country.
The mega merger is also triggering an exit by another media behemoth as minority partners cash out. Paramount Global on Thursday agreed to sell its 13% stake in its Indian TV business to its partner, Ambani’s Reliance Industries Ltd., for $517 million.
Disney and Paramount’s transactions, including the discussions with the coffee-to-cars Tata conglomerate, show that global media giants are paring their exposure or exiting the Indian market as local players consolidate their holdings.
