bodhi tree: James Murdoch, Uday Shankar’s Bodhi Tree to invest Rs 13,500 crore in Viacom18

James Murdoch and former Star & Disney India head Uday Shankar-backed Bodhi Tree Systems is set to raise and invest Rs 13,500 crore in Viacom18, a 51:49 joint venture between Reliance Industries-owned TV18 and Paramount Global (formerly known as ViacomCBS).

Reliance Projects & Property Management Services Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Reliance Industries (RIL), will also invest Rs 1,645 crore in Viacom18.

Additionally, RIL will transfer its JioCinema OTT app to Viacom18, the companies said in a statement on Wednesday.

ET first reported on January 27th that RIL was in talks with Murdoch and Shankar, to raise over Rs 12,000 crore for Viacom18.

Bodhi Tree Systems will lead a fund raise with a consortium of investors, which will help Viacom18 to bid aggressively for the upcoming media rights of the Indian Premier League (IPL), insiders said.

While the companies did not disclose the shareholding pattern post the completion of the deal, ET has learned that RIL will hold majority stake, while Bodhi Tree will have close to 40% stake in the company. Paramount Global’s stake will reduce to close to 10%.

The statement confirmed that Paramount will continue as a shareholder of Viacom18 and will continue to supply Viacom18 its premium global content.

Bodhi Tree, a newly formed platform between Murdoch’s Lupa Systems and Shankar, the former president of The Walt Disney Company Asia Pacific and former chairman of Star and Disney India, will leverage the partners’ track record of building iconic businesses and shaping the media landscape in India and globally.

ET earlier reported that Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), the sovereign wealth fund of the State of Qatar, is an investor in Bodhi Tree Systems.

“James and Uday’s track record is unmatched,” said Mukesh D Ambani, CMD, RIL. “For over two decades, they have played an undeniable role in shaping the media ecosystem in India, Asia, and around the world. We are very excited to partner with Bodhi Tree and lead India’s transition to a streaming-first media market. We are committed to bringing the best media and entertainment services for Indian customers through this partnership.”

Murdoch and Shankar said in the statement that they could not be more pleased to announce the new partnership. “Our ambition is to leverage technology advances, particularly in mobile, to provide meaningful solutions to meet everyday media and entertainment needs at scale. We seek to reshape the entertainment experience across more than 1 billion screens.”

Viacom18 owns 38 TV channels across nine languages and a pan India presence.

The transaction is expected to close within six months and is subject to closing conditions and requisite approvals.

PWC and BDO provided independent valuation of the JioCinema business and Viacom18, while EY provided diligence services to Bodhi Tree.