Walt Disney CEO Bob Iger said the merger of his company's India business with Reliance Industries will help the company in boosting profit and "derisk" its business in the country.
"We had an opportunity to align with Reliance, which is obviously the company that has done very well there and one that we respect. And in doing so, end up owning part of a bigger media company. And we believe that, that not only should benefit us in terms of the bottom-line, but derisk us as well there," he said.
Walt Disney Co. and Reliance Industries had announced in February that the two companies have reached a deal to merge their Indian media operations. Under the pact, Reliance will hold 63.16 per cent of the new entity and Disney will have 36.84 per cent. The new company will be India's leading media company with two streaming services and around 120 TV channels.
"We wanted to stay in India. We made a big investment in India when we purchased the assets of 21st Century Fox. We are one of the biggest media companies in India. But even though it is the most populous country in the world, we felt we want to be there because of that, we also know that there are challenges in that market," he added.
"So, it's kind of the best of both worlds. We stay in the market at a significant level. We have a very good partner in Reliance, and we get to have a chance of growing a business and lowering the risk of doing so," Iger said.
-- with inputs from PTI
