A decade after selling his flagship entertainment business to Walt Disney Co, edtech and media entrepreneur Ronnie Screwvala plans to consolidate his interests in content, sports and technology into a single entity and raise as much as $200 million by diluting a minority stake in it, people with knowledge of the developments told ET.
Screwvala is said to have approached media- and entertainment-focused funds such as Emerald Media, a platform investment vehicle controlled by KKR, and strategic entities.
“Screwvala has strong business interests in media, sports and technology and the intent is to combine these initiatives. The combination of the three activities makes it a unique proposition. The intent is to build out an India soft power story and combine these unique initiatives,” said one person. KKR declined to comment.
One of the entities that will lead the consolidation is Ronnie Screwvala Productions (RSVP), a producer of movies including ‘Uri: The Surgical Strike.’ U Sports, the sports entity, has teams in kabaddi, volleyball and table-tennis and looks to branch off into football with ISL and bid for an IPL team.
Screwvala has been one of the key Indian investors in early-stage tech and new economy companies. His portfolio in the unlisted startup space is valued at over Rs 1,000 crore and will be included in the proposed combined entity, the people said.
But his educational venture upGrad, which has annual revenue of about Rs 1,200 crore, will not be part of the consolidation process. upGrad is raising $150 million from investors, ET reported on November 27.
Screwvala had transformed UTV from a production company to a multimedia giant before selling his stake to Walt Disney for 2,000 crore in 2011.
Since his exit from UTV, he has diversified into film production, education, sports and private equity. His PE firm Unilazer Ventures was launched in 2012. U Sports, which owns the U Mumba kabaddi franchise, was set up in 2014, upGrad started in 2015 and RSVP Movies was incorporated in 2017.
Since 2012, Screwvala has invested in over 30 Indian startups through Unilazer Ventures, which focuses on early-stage startups across sectors.
Screwvala is said to have approached media- and entertainment-focused funds such as Emerald Media, a platform investment vehicle controlled by KKR, and strategic entities.
Screwvala confirmed the consolidation process, but declined to provide details. “I have been approached and very few people around the world get the combined story, but talks are at an initial stage and I do not have any more to comment as of now,” Screwvala told ET.
“Screwvala has strong business interests in media, sports and technology and the intent is to combine these initiatives. The combination of the three activities makes it a unique proposition. The intent is to build out an India soft power story and combine these unique initiatives,” said one person. KKR declined to comment.
One of the entities that will lead the consolidation is Ronnie Screwvala Productions (RSVP), a producer of movies including ‘Uri: The Surgical Strike.’ U Sports, the sports entity, has teams in kabaddi, volleyball and table-tennis and looks to branch off into football with ISL and bid for an IPL team.
Screwvala has been one of the key Indian investors in early-stage tech and new economy companies. His portfolio in the unlisted startup space is valued at over Rs 1,000 crore and will be included in the proposed combined entity, the people said.
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But his educational venture upGrad, which has annual revenue of about Rs 1,200 crore, will not be part of the consolidation process. upGrad is raising $150 million from investors, ET reported on November 27.
Screwvala had transformed UTV from a production company to a multimedia giant before selling his stake to Walt Disney for 2,000 crore in 2011.
Since his exit from UTV, he has diversified into film production, education, sports and private equity. His PE firm Unilazer Ventures was launched in 2012. U Sports, which owns the U Mumba kabaddi franchise, was set up in 2014, upGrad started in 2015 and RSVP Movies was incorporated in 2017.
Since 2012, Screwvala has invested in over 30 Indian startups through Unilazer Ventures, which focuses on early-stage startups across sectors.
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