TEST:James Murdoch's Bodhi Tree cuts planned investment in Reliance JV

Description Updated:A source familiar with the matter said the investment amount was reduced due to a broader funding squeeze amid a slowdown in deal making.

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BENGALURU (Reuters) - Bodhi Tree, a joint venture between James Murdoch and a former Star India executive, has reduced its planned investment in Reliance's broadcast venture Viacom18 by 70% and will now pump in 43.06 billion rupees ($527.84 million), Viacom18 said late on Thursday.

Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries had said in April last year that Qatar Investment Authority-backed Bodhi Tree would spend 135 billion rupees out of a planned 151.45 billion rupees investment in the media behemoth that is also backed by Paramount Global.

 

Reliance is now leading the investment with a 108.39 billion rupees infusion.

A source familiar with the matter said the investment amount was reduced due to a broader funding squeeze amid a slowdown in dealmaking.

 

Global mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity shrank to the lowest level in more than a decade in the first quarter of 2023, as rising interest rates, high inflation and fears of a recession soured the appetite of companies for dealmaking.