RIL to acquire stake in Eros International, invests up to Rs 1,000 crores to produce content

With an aim to consolidate its position in the content space, Mukesh Ambani owned Reliance Industries Limited has agreed to subscribe to a 5 percent equity stake in Eros at a price of $15 per share which represents an 18 percent premium to last closing price.

The transaction is subject to customary regulatory and other approvals.

Furthermore, RIL and Eros India announced that they have agreed to partner in the country to jointly produce and consolidate content from across India. Both the parties will equally invest up to Rs 1,000 crores (approx. $150 million) to produce and acquire Indian films and digital originals across all languages. Last month, Reliance Jio renewed its content deal with Eros Now and at the moment, Jio is offering free content from Eros Now on its JioCinema application.

In addition both the companies announced that Jyoti Deshpande, Group CEO and MD of Eros will be stepping down from her Executive role after more than 17 years in Eros and move on to head the Media and Entertainment business at RIL as President of the Chairman's Office. Ms. Deshpande will start her role at RIL from April 2018 but will continue to remain as a Non-Executive Director on the Board of Eros. Kishore Lulla will resume his position of Group Chairman and CEO of Eros, RIL said.

Deshpande will lead the company's initiatives in Media and Entertainment to organically build and grow businesses around the content ecosystem such as Broadcasting, Films, Sports, Music, Digital, Gaming, Animation etc., as well as integrate RIL's existing media investments such as Viacom and Balaji Telefilms with a view to build, scale and consolidate the fragmented $ 20 billion Indian M&E sector.

How to control storage space used by WhatsApp on Android

Mukesh Ambani, Chairman & Managing Director, RIL commented, "We are pleased to join hands with Eros, as it will bring further synergies into our plans, making for a win-win partnership. We are delighted to welcome Ms. Jyoti Deshpande into the Reliance family and believe that she will not only give wings to our plans but also play a pivotal role in transforming the sector.