Paramount reportedly in talks to sell Viacom18 stake to Reliance Industries

Mukesh Ambani

Paramount Global is reportedly in discussions to sell its minority stake in Indian media venture Viacom18 to Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries.

Reliance already holds the majority stake in the business, which counts the JioCinema streaming service and producer-distributor Viacom18 Studios among its assets. James Murdoch’s Bodhi Tree System is also an investor.

Bloomberg, which first reported on the development, said that talks to acquire Paramount’s 13% stake are ongoing and many not result in a deal.

Paramount is currently looking to reduce its debts through sale of its assets, and reports suggest offloading its interest in Viacom18 could generate $550m for the US-based company.

The report comes just days after Ambani’s Reliance stuck a deal with Disney to merge their streaming and TV operations in India to create a new entity valued at $8.5bn.

The new service is planned to incorporate 120 TV channels as well as the streamers JioCinema and Disney+ Hotstar.