Reliance Industries Limited on Thursday announced that it was picking up 24.9% stake worth Rs 413 crore in production house Balaji Telefilms. The Mukesh Ambani-led company will buy 2.52 crore equity shares at Rs 164 per piece in the company, subject to shareholder and other approvals.
The transaction is expected to be completed in 45 to 60 days, RIL said.
Balaji Telefilms is run by veteran actor Jeetendra and his daughter Ekta Kapoor. They held 43.3% stake in the production house till June 30, The Times of India reported. After the deal comes through, their share will drop to 32.5%.
A stake in the company will provide RIL access to content generated by Balaji Telefilms for its 10 crore Reliance Jio subscribers. “This investment in content production is in line with RIL’s commitment to invest and grow in telecom, digital and media businesses,” it said.
Balaji Telefilms had launched its over-the-top service, ALT Balaji, in April this year. The app already has more than 40 lakh downloads in 80 countries, the company said.
“The investment by RIL will be utilsised to further speed up content development initiatives, especially for ALT,” the Mumbai-based media firm said. “This investment will give strong impetus to the company’s focus on becoming India’s content powerhouse.”
Balaji Telefilms Chairman Jeetendra welcomed the deal, saying RIL would help in its journey towards becoming the “preferred content producer” for Indian audiences worldwide. “This investment is a vote of confidence to the company’s strategic move to own our IP and our viewers,” he said.
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