Fiction
Universal Music buys 30% of Excel Entertainment
MUMBAI: Universal Music Group has stepped deeper into India’s entertainment business, acquiring a 30 per cent stake in Mumbai-based production house Excel Entertainment.
The deal, executed through Universal Music India, values Excel at Rs 2,400 crore, or about $290 million, and establishes a long-term strategic partnership spanning films, series and music. Universal becomes a significant minority shareholder, while Excel’s founders Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar retain creative control of the studio.
Music sits at the centre of the agreement. Universal will receive global distribution rights for all future original soundtracks from projects owned or controlled by Excel. The partnership also includes the launch of a dedicated Excel music label, to be distributed worldwide by Universal Music Group, along with an exclusive publishing tie-up with Universal Music Publishing Group.
In effect, Excel’s upcoming films and shows will now be designed with a global music audience in mind, connecting Indian screen storytelling to international streaming platforms and playlists.
Devraj Sanyal, chairman and CEO of Universal Music India and South Asia, will join Excel’s board as part of the transaction.
For Universal, the investment reflects confidence in India’s screen-led music economy. India is currently the world’s 15th-largest recorded music market, with growth driven by the close relationship between films, series and soundtracks. The country has more than 375 million OTT viewers and around 650 million smartphone users, making audio-visual content a powerful driver of music discovery.
Film music in India often enjoys a long afterlife, replayed well beyond theatrical or streaming runs. By partnering directly with a content studio, Universal gains early access to soundtracks with cultural staying power.
Morgan Stanley advised Excel on the transaction. Legal counsel was provided by AZB and Partners for Universal Music Group and Khaitan and Co for Excel, with Ernst and Young and KPMG acting as transaction advisers.
Founded in 1999, Excel Entertainment has shaped modern Hindi cinema with iconic films like Dil Chahta Hai, Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara and Gully Boy, which brought India’s hip-hop heartbeat to the big screen. On the digital front, the studio has redefined storytelling with series such as Inside Edge, Mirzapur, Made in Heaven, Dahaad and Netflix’s Dabba Cartel.
The two companies said that further details about the new music label and the first wave of soundtracks will be revealed in the months ahead, promising a blend of cinematic storytelling and chart-worthy melodies. With this partnership, Indian stories are set to travel far beyond their origins, finding their way into hearts, headphones, and screens across the globe, carrying with them the rhythm, energy, and soul of a vibrant entertainment landscape.
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.
