Reliance nears deal to buy Disney's India business -Bloomberg News

BENGALURU, Oct 23 (Reuters) - Disney (DIS.N) is nearing a deal to sell its India operations to Reliance Industries (RELI.NS), the Mukesh Ambani-controlled conglomerate whose streaming platforms success has weighed on the U.S. companys business, Bloomberg News reported on Monday.

Disney may sell a controlling stake in the Disney Star business, which it values at around $10 billion, rather than piecemeal transactions, Bloomberg reported, citing sources familiar with the matter.

However Reliance values the assets at between $7 billion and $8 billion, the report said.

The deal could be announced as early as next month and Disney will likely hold on to a minority stake in the Indian business, the report said.

No final decision has been made on the deal or the valuation and Disney could still decide to hold onto the assets, Bloomberg reported.

Disney and Reliance did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.

Reliances streaming platform JioCinema has put increased pressure on Disneys India streaming operations, with Ambani marketing his streaming platform by offering free access to the Indian Premier League cricket tournament, digital rights of which were earlier with Disney.

Reporting by Varun Vyas in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio DSouza

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