India's Tata Sons raises stake in Tata Play, Temasek exits, Economic Times reports

BENGALURU (Reuters) - Tata Sons, the holding company of India's Tata Group, has increased its stake in satellite TV provider Tata Play to 70% by buying a 10% stake from Singapore state investment firm Temasek for about $100 million, the Economic Times reported on Tuesday.

Tata Play has informed the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting about the change in shareholding, complying with regulations governing direct-to-home (DTH) companies, according to the report, which cited people familiar with the matter.

With Temasek's exit, Tata Play will operate as a 70:30 joint venture between Tata and Walt Disney, the latter inheriting its stake from the acquisition of Star India via the purchase of 21st Century Fox's India assets.

Despite a decrease in valuation from its pre-pandemic target of $3 billion to $1 billion, Tata Play, which also offers video streaming, remains crucial for the for Tata Group as its main consumer-facing business in the media and entertainment sector.

Talks between Tata Sons and Disney about the latter's stake are underway, with Disney looking to exit Tata Play since DTH is not core to its business, the Economic Times said.

Plans for both Temasek and Disney to exit Tata Play through an IPO were postponed due to market conditions and challenges in the DTH sector, according to the report.

Tata Play had received approval from India's market regulator for its proposed public issue in May 2023.

In February, Reliance Industries and Disney announced the merger of their India TV and streaming media assets, creating an $8.5 billion entertainment juggernaut.

(Reporting by Navamya Ganesh Acharya in Bengaluru; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala)