In a shift of mergers and acquisitions, Sony Pictures Entertainment has now arrived in the market to acquire Walt Disney’s India market. Initially, there were talks of how Jio was leading the race to acquire Disney+Hotstar, but now in a shift of tide, the Japanese Sony Group is keen on acquiring Hotstar.
Sony is en route to form a huge merger with Zee Entertainment which aims to take the Indian Sporting market by a story. But now after initial talks with Hotstar, it is understood that this is a fallback or contingency plan for Sony should the mega merger with Zee break off or face unforeseen obstacles.
“The merger with Zee was in the works for almost two years and has seen its fair share of hiccups. SPE’s parent in Japan is getting frustrated with the delay and has asked to be prepared with a Plan B,” one of the people involved in the development told Mint.
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Sony has been left frustrated at the delay with the Zee merger. It has been over 2 years and the partnership with Zee Entertainment Enterprises is yet to materialise.
“In case it gets pushed beyond December, there is a high likelihood that Sony may advance talks with Disney post that,” Karan Taurani, Vice President, Elara Capital, said.
“Regulatory approvals like CCI, NCLT may take over a year. CCI may not provide clearance or ask to shutdown channels, as Sony/Disney will have a much larger TV ad market share of 45 per cent (Zee/Sony TV ad market share is 25 per cent),” Taurani said.
Sony no longer wants any further delay and is therefore seeking out a different alternative. While the Sony-Zee merger continues, A further acquisition for Sony will be massive, especially in the Indian market.
Disney+Hotstar has huge viewer base in India and Sony is adamant to tap into the Indian market.
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