Film Production
Speculative media reports caused Wells Fargo downgrade: Eros
BENGALURU: The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) listed Eros International Media lost nearly 20 per cent of its market value on Monday on the back of American multinational banking and financial services holding company Wells Fargo downgrading its parent company Eros International Plc, which is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).
Reacting to a notice from the bourses about the downgrade by Wells Fargo, Eros International Media (Eros) held speculative media reports responsible.
Eros said that analysts downgrade or upgrade stocks regularly and ‘as such that is not a cause for much concern’. Also, the company has responded by pointing out in its reply that Wells Fargo did not revise their own earnings estimate for the quarter or the year end and their price target is $22, well above the price the stock was trading the date it was published. Eros claims in its response that another analyst from Macquire-Tim Nollen, published a very positive report and maintained outperform rating with a $25 target, on the same day as the Wells Fargo report that was published on 23 October, 2015.
Eros’ response to the bourses goes onto assure its shareholders that the company’s fundamentals are strong and there have been no material changes in the previous announced fundamentals. “We continue to be market leaders in the Indian film industry with a dominant share in the global Indian box office. Our library of over 2000 films continues to be of a unique competitive advantage, which we monetise in conjunction with our new release slate of 65-70 films comprising Hindi and regional languages each year, across theatrical, television and digital and ancillary distribution platforms which constitute our diversified revenue streams,” the company said.
The company added that its Q1 results have been strong and nothing materially has changed since then, in fact a further string of hits by the company such as Bajrangi Bhaijaan in Q2. Eros’ Q2 results, which are to be announced towards mid-November, will be strong and will be another opportunity for the company to answer further questions regarding all aspects of its operations and finances during that earnings call.
The response to the BSE and the National Stock Exchange (NSE) has been signed by Eros company secretary and compliance officer Dimple Mehta.
At the end of the day’s trade on the BSE, Eros International Media’s stock was down 19.11 per cent to close at Rs 354.40 as compared its Friday close of Rs 438.10. On Monday, the stock opened at Rs 418.80 but saw a drop as word of the Wells Fargo downgrade spread. The stock reached an intra-day low of Rs 351.
On NYSE, shares of the parent company Eros International Plc, which has a market cap of $842.9 million, too have been losing ground over the last one week. As of 23 October, the company’s shares were down 45 per cent to $14.65 in one week on NYSE.
Film Production
Priyanka Kaur Dhillon joins SVF Entertainment as lead for music distribution
A seasoned content dealmaker with 16 years in digital and satellite media joins the Bengali entertainment powerhouse as it pushes into the pan-India music market
Mumbai: Priyanka Kaur Dhillon has made her move. The content acquisitions and commercials veteran, most recently commercial manager at Sony Pictures Networks India, has joined SVF Entertainment as lead for music distribution, stepping into one of the more interesting briefs in regional entertainment right now.
SVF is no ordinary regional label. Over 30 years it has built a formidable legacy in Bengali cinema and music, driven by culturally resonant storytelling and a catalogue that consistently punches above its weight. Its recent success with Chiraiya underlines the point. But the Kolkata-based powerhouse now has its sights firmly set beyond Bengal, most visibly through Legacy, a rap reality series produced in collaboration with hip-hop label Kalamkaar that signals a deliberate push into the pan-India music ecosystem.
Dhillon brings precisely the kind of muscle SVF needs for that expansion. At Sony Pictures Networks India, she led film acquisition and commercials and handled music licensing across the entire satellite network. Before that, she spent nearly 15 years at Hungama, rising to assistant general manager and leading strategic content licensing for the platform’s digital entertainment business, with a particular focus on international markets. Her label relationships span the full roster: Sony Music, Universal Music, Warner Music, Believe International, Tunecore, The Orchard and a clutch of smaller aggregators. She has negotiated and closed deals with Hollywood studios, Bollywood production houses and regional content players alike, building pricing models and deal structures off data analysis rather than instinct.
Announcing the appointment, Dhillon said she was “thrilled to begin this journey with an iconic Bengali music label and content powerhouse,” adding that SVF’s “constant drive to push boundaries” was what drew her to the role.
SVF has spent three decades proving that regional does not mean limited. With a sharp commercial operator now steering its music distribution, its bid to go national just got a good deal more serious.
