Reliance’s Jio Studios acquires 50.1% stake in Sikhya Entertainment for ₹150 crore

New Delhi: Reliance Industries Ltd-owned Jio Studios has acquired a 50.1% equity stake in Sikhya Entertainment Pvt. Ltd (SEPL) through a combination of primary and secondary transactions, for an aggregate cash consideration of ₹150 crore.

The development is seen as yet another example of growing consolidation in the media and entertainment sector, fraught with challenges of box office volatility and plateauing OTT subscriptions.

The collaboration between Reliance Strategic Business Ventures Ltd, which operates Jio Studios, and Guneet Monga Kapoor and Achin Jain’s SEPL will help co-create films and series for audiences in India and worldwide.

The partnership brings together Jio Studios’ scale, reach, focus on building enduring intellectual property, nurturing creator-led ecosystems and long-term vision with SEPL’s proven track record of globally resonant, culturally rooted storytelling, the two companies said in a statement.

While Jio Studios is known for films such as Dhurandhar, Laapataa Ladies, and the Stree franchise, Sikhya Entertainment has to its credit Academy Award wins such as Period, End of Sentence, and The Elephant Whisperers. Its National Film Award-winning movies include Masaan, (Hindi), Soorarai Pottru (Tamil) and Kathal (Hindi).

“This association reflects our long-term belief in partnering with creators who combine creative excellence with cultural authenticity… we aim to give Indian stories the platform and pathways to reach audiences around the world,” Jyoti Deshpande, president-Jio Studios (media and content business, RIL) said in a statement.

Consolidation phase

The partnership comes on the heels of a growing wave of consolidation in the entertainment ecosystem. Music label Saregama has invested ₹325 crore in an initial stake in film-maker Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s company and Universal Music has acquired a 30% stake in Excel Entertainment, over the past two months alone.

Serene Productions, led by business tycoon Adar Poonawalla, had acquired a 50% stake in film-maker and producer Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions in 2024. Serene Productions said it would invest ₹1,000 crore in Dharma Productions and Dharmatic Entertainment, collectively known as Dharma.

These investors are looking beyond box office volatility, OTT saturation and subscription fatigue to bet on the ability to acquire scale and evolving monetization models after the post-covid boom, according to experts.

Mobile-first formats, artificial intelligence (AI)-driven production, and data-driven audience insights are reshaping how content is created and consumed. The rise of regional and vernacular storytelling is also unlocking fresh demand.

According to a Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (Ficci)-EY report, the Indian media and entertainment industry is expected to expand from ₹2.5 trillion in 2024 to ₹3.07 trillion by 2027, growing at an annualized rate of 7%.

“The recent interest from savvy investors in the media and entertainment space, despite the well-known challenges, is not about betting on a single blockbuster. It’s a strategic play on the broader ‘digital India’ consumption story,” said Varun Singh, founding partner of Foresight Law Offices.

“These investors are looking for companies that own the ‘picks and shovels’ of the industry, the talent, the technology, and the distribution networks, rather than just the gold itself.”

Such partnerships also make sense for Bollywood studios, most of which have so far run on their own steam. While the box office remains volatile and unpredictable, satellite and digital sales for films have shrunk over the past few years with buyers turning cold.

Hollywood studios, which have been bankrolling content from India for a while, have also slowed their investments in the country. Consequently, Bollywood’s film studios have not been able to scale up on their own.

According to experts, funding allows studios to take more risks, moving beyond big-budget, star-driven films to invest in smaller, more diverse projects. The other big difference that such funding could bring about would be to reduce the dependence on OTT companies, which have been tightening their purse strings and steering clear of films that don’t do well at the box office.

“Over the past decade, we have collaborated with bold new directors, writers, actors, and exceptional creative teams who continue to push the boundaries of independent cinema with honesty and ambition,” Guneet Monga Kapoor and Achin Jain, Sikhya Entertainment, said in a statement.

“For independent producers like us, driven by dreams and the audacity to turn those ideas into reality, this journey has been deeply rewarding. Partnering with Jio Studios allows us to take these stories to audiences around the world, while empowering us to champion emerging talent from across the country, where stories exist in every fabric and every thread.”