Reliance Industries is about to buy a stake in Indian music streaming service Saavn and has decided to merge it with its JioMusic app to create a new entity .
As per the deal, Reliance would be buying a stake in Saavn from it’s shareholders. It might think of investing up to $100 million, $20 million to expand the JioMusic- Saavn combine.
The existing investors of Saavn such as Tiger Global Management, Liberty Media and Bertelsmann will continue to hold new music services.
Reliance, owned by India’s richest man Mukesh Ambani, has yet not disclosed the size of stake in JioMusic-Saavn combine but made a general statement that $1 billion valuations for the merged entity included a $670 million valuation for JioMusic.
Reliance’s Jio telecoms business has been one of the India’s fastest growing phone carrier from the time it has been launched. It came up in the market with huge offers and free voice calling while expanding it’s network to Indian films, music and TV shows.
According to reporters Jio is betting on entertainment and sports content to boost users who spend on data. Analyst also say that in coming months Reliance is about to hold a major place in markets.