Reliance Industries Ltd. is in talks to acquire a stake in Dharma Productions, the famed film production house founded by Bollywood filmmaker Karan Johar. If the deal materializes, RIL’s presence in content production in India would be a huge boost. At the same time, the size of the stake under negotiation is not disclosed.
Karan Johar, who owns 90.7 percent of Dharma Productions, had been looking to monetize his holding for quite some time. According to an unnamed source, earlier talks had been derailed because of disagreements over valuation.
About 9.24 percent of the company is owned by Johar’s mother, Hiroo Johar. The company, Dharma Productions, is a well-established production house in the industry that has produced many successful Bollywood films.
In turn, should the buyout proceed, it would bolster Reliance’s already existing media and content portfolio, which also includes Jio Studios, Viacom18 Studios, Colosceum Media, and a minority interest in Balaji Telefilms. Jio Studios is now India’s largest film studio, with box office collections of ₹700 crores in FY24, as its co-production, Stree 2, has emerged as the highest-grossing Hindi film of all time.
Initial reports also emerged in early October that Dharma Productions was holding talks with Saregama, part of the RP Sanjiv Goenka Group, for a majority sale. However, Saregama, in its filing with the Bombay Stock Exchange on October 8, reported that it had no material updates on the issue. This company again clarified that it periodically reviews strategic growth opportunities but did not have any material updates, at least then. Saregama further pledged to make appropriate disclosures under applicable law and regulations if any material development does take place in the future.
Numbers reflect that Dharma Productions revenue skyrocketed nearly four times to ₹1,040 crore FY23 from ₹276 crore last year. However, the company’s net profit fell 59 percent to ₹11 crore compared to what it recorded last year. This is because expenses jumped 4.5 times to ₹1,028 crore, with a large part of those expenses due to higher production costs.
Distribution rights accounted for ₹656 crore, digital platforms ₹140 crore, while satellite rights fetched ₹83 crore. Dharma’s music revenue totaled ₹75 crores, a quantum leap from the earnings of ₹19 crores, ₹167 crores, ₹34 crores, and ₹21 crores from the same sources in the previous year.
