MUMBAI: Lupa Systems founder and CEO James Murdoch and Uday Shankar, former chairman and CEO of Star India and former president of Walt Disney Asia Pacific, announced Thursday they are forming a new venture, “Bodhi Tree”, an investment platform that will be financially supported by the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund.
As per an official release, “the new venture is designed to invest in media and consumer technology opportunities in Southeast Asia, with a particular focus on India”.
The newly formed venture will be run by Murdoch and Shankar as co-chairs. QIA will be committing up to $1.5 billion in Bodhi Tree’s vision being pursued by Murdoch and Shankar.
“We are very pleased to announce Bodhi Tree,” Murdoch and Shankar jointly declared. “Opportunities abound to scale exciting businesses in India and the broader Southeast Asia region. Our continued focus on investing and building relationships in these regions comes from our deep conviction in the long-term growth of these economies and the incredible power of these consumers, as these sectors are transformed by technology.”
QIA CEO Mansoor bin Ebrahim Al-Mahmoud said: “QIA is proud to play a key role in bringing Bodhi Tree to reality. QIA is investing in the technology and media space and India is a key market for us. QIA looks forward to backing Bodhi Tree as they drive forward their growth plans in the future.”
The development comes close on the heels of reports that Shankar and Murdoch were teaming up to take a 39% stake in Viacom18, in which Reliance Industries Ltd-controlled TV18 is the majority owner with a 51% stake.
The reports suggested that US-based media conglomerate ViacomCBS Inc would be diluting its stakeholding from 49% to 10% in the restructured joint venture.
According to Economic Times, which first reported on the development, the deal will entail primary (bulk) and secondary infusion of over Rs 12,000 crore into Viacom18 at a valuation of Rs 30,000 cr ($4 billion).
It bears noting that Lupa India is reportedly coming on board Viacom18 as “strategic investors with a say in operational management” rather than a direct managerial role. In the short term, this would mean a direct oversight in the bidding strategy for the upcoming blockbuster cricket rights.
For the record, Lupa Systems is a private holding company founded in 2019 by James Murdoch, the former CEO of 21st Century Fox, Sky plc, and Star. The company has offices in New York and Mumbai. A few companies in which Lupa has made investments in the recent past are media outfits like Vice, DailyJunt and edtech startup DoubtNut.
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