Fiction
Star offloads 26% stake in Balaji Telefilms for Rs 108 crore; shares up 20%
MUMBAI: The “Star” has finally moved out of the Balaji Telefilms household. Rupert Murdoch owned Star Group has offloaded its entire stake of 25.99 per cent in Balaji Telefilms through a block deal on the Metropolitan Stock Exchange of India (MSEI).
As of 30 June, 2015, Murdoch’s company Star Middle East FZ-LLC held 1,69,48,194 shares in the television and film production powerhouse helmed by Ekta Kapoor, which was equivalent to a 25.99 per cent stake. The deal was done at an average price Rs 63.60 per share, which values the transaction at approximately Rs 107.80 crore. The buyer of the shares remains hitherto unknown.
Ekta Kapoor and her family comprising Shobha, Jeetendra and Tusshar Kapoor jointly hold 42.93 per cent stake in the company with a total of 2,79,92,938 shares to their name.
Riding on the back of this news, Balaji Telefilms’ shares rallied on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) on Wednesday 5 August, 2015. The company’s shares were quoting at Rs 95.25, up by Rs 15.85, or 19.96 per cent on the BSE. The stock also hit its 52-week high and there were only buyers and no sellers after the Star Group’s exit block sale.
Star India’s Hong Kong-based parent company Star Group Ltd, had bought a 21 per cent stake in Balaji in 2004 for Rs 123 crore through its Dubai-based affiliate Asian Broadcasting FZ-LLC (now known as Star Middle East FZ-LLC). The stake acquisition was then followed by an open offer, after which Star’s shareholding increased to 25.99 per cent.
Pertinent to note here is that Star has been keen on divesting its stake in Balaji Telefilms since 2008 when relations between the once thick friends went sour over low ratings of Balaji’s shows on Star Plus in the wake of intense competition. Rumors were rife in 2008 and then subsequently every other year that Star was planning to sell its entire stake in Balaji.
Throughout 2004, Balaji Telefilms’ shares were trading in the price range of Rs 92 – Rs 105 on the BSE. While the shares touched a high of approximately Rs 188 in early 2006, it was in late 2007 when the company was at its peak with share price of Rs 350+ per piece. In December 2007, Star’s 25.99 per cent stake was worth a whopping Rs 597 crore based on Balaji’s stock price of Rs 352.40 on the BSE.
While Star has finally made the much-vied exit in 2015, it seems as if this deal brought about a negative return for the company as far as valuation is concerned in the face of the investment that was pumped into Balaji Telefilms by the media behemoth more than a decade ago. However, it must be kept in mind, that over the years Star also earned sizeable amount of dividends from the company. Additionally, Star also enjoyed the fruits of intangible benefits such as the exclusive content agreement with the production house for its TRP-raking soaps. That said, it’s simple math that the price tag of Rs 108 crore for 25.99 per cent stake in 2015, is less than Star’s buying price of Rs 123 crore for 21 per cent stake way back in 2004.
Fiction
Banijay merges with All3Media in $6.65 billion deal
Marco Bassetti will lead the combined company as CEO
PARIS: Six years after acquiring Endemol Shine at the height of the pandemic, Banijay has struck again. The European production heavyweight is merging with All3Media in a deal that will create a television titan with $6.65 billion in revenue and redraw the contours of a fast-consolidating market.
The combined company will trade under the Banijay name and be owned 50 per cent each by Banijay Group and RedBird IMI, which acquired All3Media in 2024. The transaction is expected to close by autumn, subject to regulatory approvals.
Banijay Entertainment CEO Marco Bassetti, will take the top job at the enlarged group. All3Media CEO Jane Turton becomes deputy CEO. RedBird IMI CEO Jeff Zucker will serve as chairman.
The logic is scale. Broadcasters are commissioning less, streamers are tightening budgets and global buyers are fewer but bigger. Against that backdrop, heft matters. The merged entity will generate roughly $6.65 billion in revenues based on 2024 figures, giving it sharper elbows in rights negotiations and deeper pockets for franchise-building.
“Entrepreneurialism, ambition and creativity” remain core to Banijay’s DNA, Bassetti said, flagging plans to invest more heavily in new intellectual property, live events and emerging platforms. Turton struck a similarly bullish note, pointing to All3Media’s journey from a 2003 start-up to a global supplier of hit formats and high-end drama.
Between them, the two groups control a formidable slate. Banijay’s catalogue spans MasterChef, Big Brother, Survivor, Black Mirror, Peaky Blinders and Deal or No Deal. All3Media’s labels include Studio Lambert, producer of The Traitors and Squid Game: The Challenge; Two Brothers, behind The Tourist; and Neal Street, currently producing the forthcoming Beatles biopics directed by Sam Mendes for Sony.
The back catalogue is equally muscular. Banijay Rights holds some 220,000 hours, while All3Media International adds around 35,000 hours, forming one of the industry’s largest libraries.
Banijay, controlled by French entrepreneur Stéphane Courbit and listed in Amsterdam, counts more than 130 production companies across 25 territories. All3Media operates over 40 labels, with strong positions in the UK, US and Germany. The enlarged group will also lean into live entertainment, building on Banijay’s Balich Wonder Studio, which produced the opening ceremony of the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, and the Independents.
The deal marks a shift in tone. As recently as October, Bassetti suggested that mergers and acquisitions were not a priority. But the drumbeat of consolidation has grown louder. Mediawan has moved for Peter Chernin’s North Road. David Ellison’s Paramount has agreed to a $110 billion takeover of Warner Bros, with plans to combine HBO Max and Paramount plus. ITV has explored selling its media and entertainment arm to Comcast-owned Sky, though talks have reportedly slowed.
