India’s media and entertainment landscape is witnessing a notable inflection point as strategic capital increasingly enters the production ecosystem. On January 5, Universal Music Group (UMG), one of the world’s largest music and entertainment conglomerates, announced the acquisition of a 30 percent minority stake in Excel Entertainment, co-founded by Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani for content including films and digital series.
The investment, valued at USD 267 million, positions Excel at over ₹2,400 crore in enterprise value and marks one of the largest minority-stake deals involving an Indian production house. Under the terms of the agreement, Excel’s founders will retain creative control and majority ownership, while UMG gains global distribution rights for all future original soundtracks from Excel’s projects and plans a dedicated music label to be distributed worldwide. Devraj Sanyal, Chairman and CEO of Universal Music India & South Asia, is set to join Excel’s board, underscoring UMG’s long-term strategic commitment to the Indian market.
The transaction follows a string of high-profile equity investments in Indian production houses, including industrialist Adar Poonawalla’s ₹1,000-crore investment in Dharma Productions through the acquisition of a 50 percent stake, and Saregama’s ₹325-crore investment in Bhansali Productions for exclusive music rights to future films, with an option to raise its stake to a majority 51 percent. Together, these deals underscore heightened investor focus on India’s creative industries.
Industry sources say several more production houses such as Vikram Malhotra’s Abundantia and Siddharth Roy Kapur’s RKF (Roy Kapur Films) are currently exploring to sell stakes to raise capital.
Analysts and policymakers alike see this as a part of a broader wave of consolidation and cross-industry collaboration spanning music, film, television and digital content.
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Global Ambitions, Institutional Realities
For decades, India’s leading production houses prized creative independence. Capital, when required, typically came through project-level financing, distributor advances or satellite deals. Equity dilution was rare and often resisted in an industry driven by instinct, star power and sporadic blockbusters.
That mindset is now changing. Producers are increasingly looking beyond traditional financing models as they set their sights on global markets—through international co-productions, festival circuits and worldwide streaming releases—ambitions that demand scale, patience and institutional capital.
“It’s high time for Indian film companies to dominate the world of content the way Indian techies dominate Silicon Valley,” quips filmmaker Yubraaj Bhattacharya. “Since film companies own IPs, they can invite capital. More capital will allow them to grow—beyond what has been the normal limit—they can go international. Why can’t Indian content talent be as world famous as Indian tech talent?”
“Besides, India has 140 crore people. No company on earth can ignore this market. So, they must find suitable partners. Their need to invest is as much as our need to invite capital,” Bhattacharya adds.
Changing Economics of Content
At the core of this shift lies the altered economics of content creation. Theatrical revenues have grown increasingly volatile, tied to opening weekends and franchise recall. Streaming platforms, once flush with capital, have tightened commissioning budgets, reduced guaranteed payouts and pushed aggressively on cost efficiencies. Music, syndication and international licensing offer upside—but largely to companies that can afford to retain rights and invest for the long term.
At the same time, production costs continue to climb. Star fees remain elevated, marketing spends have ballooned, and premium storytelling now demands cinematic production values even for digital-first projects.
This has accelerated a move away from project-by-project financing towards portfolio thinking. Production houses are increasingly valued on the depth and diversity of their IP rather than individual successes, with films, series, music, spin-offs and remake rights forming interconnected revenue streams that play out over years, not months.
Strategic investors—global music majors, media conglomerates and institutional funds—bring distribution reach, international access and cross-platform monetisation capabilities. Music, in particular, has emerged as a high-margin, evergreen asset.
“Music rights, catalogue value and global exploitation are no longer side businesses,” said a senior executive at a multinational media firm. “They are central to how content companies are valued, and that’s where strategic alignment matters more than pure financial investment.”
Such partnerships also strengthen negotiating power with streaming platforms and broadcasters at a time when content buyers are consolidating and exerting greater pricing pressure.
Filmmaker Kushal Srivastava says, “For producers, it has become increasingly difficult to convince OTT platforms and large corporates. In many cases, decisions are taken by executives who have little understanding of filmmaking or emotional investment in the craft; their primary qualification is an MBA. As a result, some producers now prefer raising capital directly from financiers, which gives them greater creative freedom. Ultimately, working with people who trust your vision makes the process far smoother.”
Defensive Strategy
There is also a defensive logic at play. With fewer commissioning mandates and higher performance thresholds, the margin for error has narrowed. Smaller, independent producers often lack the financial cushion to absorb setbacks or endure long development cycles.
“Scale is becoming a form of insurance,” said a media industry observer. “Consolidation allows companies to spread risk, attract better talent and survive market slowdowns. Standing alone is becoming harder.”
This has fuelled conversations around minority stake sales, strategic alliances and selective mergers, particularly among mid-sized production houses seeking stability without surrendering creative control.
“If this capital protects creative courage instead of controlling it, Indian cinema is entering perhaps its most interesting decade yet,” says Niranjan Kaushik, Director and Chief Content Officer, Fingerprint Films, India. “When global players take minority stakes, like Universal Music Group backing Excel Entertainment or Adar Poonawalla partnering with Dharma Productions, I’d want to believe it’s not about control, it’s about conviction. I hope these aren’t buyouts; they’re signals of belief in Indian storytelling.”
Kaushik adds, “What excites me is that creators keep their voice while gaining scale. In its purest form, this allows us to think beyond opening weekends, build franchises with patience, and take braver creative calls without panic.”
A Note of Caution
Not everyone sees institutional capital as an unqualified positive. Some industry veterans warn that greater investor influence could curb creative risk-taking.
“When capital drives creative decisions, tolerance for failure drops,” said a senior filmmaker-producer who has chosen to remain independent. “Studios start favouring predictable formats.”
Others caution against creative homogenisation as global investors apply uniform metrics across diverse markets. “What works globally doesn’t always work locally,” said a former studio executive who now advises independent producers.
Even critics concede the earlier model—where producers absorbed losses and relied on informal financing—was unsustainable. The real test, many argue, will be governance.
“If investors respect creative independence while enforcing rigour, the model works,” said a media lawyer. “Otherwise, friction is inevitable.”