Hot download

27 March 2018 By Una Galani Follow @ugalani

India’s richest man is merging two music-streaming services into a $1 bln group. That will help attract users to the telecoms arm of his Reliance Industries. With the conglomerate poised to start throwing off cash again, Ambani could take his content ambitions to another level.

This content is for Subscribers only

Context News

India's Reliance Industries said on March 23 it would buy a stake in Indian music-streaming service Saavn and merge it with its JioMusic app to create a group worth more than $1 billion.

The oil-to-telecoms conglomerate will pay $104 million for a stake of undisclosed size in Saavn from existing shareholders. Saavn's investors include Tiger Global Management, Liberty Media and Bertelsmann. It will invest a further $100 million to grow the business, including $20 million upfront. The deal values JioMusic at $670 million, Reliance said, without providing further details.

Saavn was founded in 2007. It offers 36 million tracks in 15 languages. In 2016, Saavn began offering non-music audio ranging from Bollywood dramas to comedy shows.

Reliance is India's largest listed company. Goldman Sachs advised Reliance.

Email a friend

Please complete the form below.

Required fields *