Amazon India is buying: Inox, others on wishlist

IN A transfer aimed toward diversifying its leisure enterprise, Amazon India is learnt to be in discussions with a number of gamers within the movie and media distribution section, together with Mumbai-based film theatre chain Inox Leisure Ltd, for doubtlessly choosing up stakes in them, sources advised The Indian Express.
With its over-the-top (OTT) content material enterprise not rising as quick as the corporate anticipated — Amazon India launched its OTT platform Prime Video in 2016 — and with film theatre chains impacted by lockdowns during the last year-and-a-half, Amazon India is claimed to be taking a look at buying curiosity in a few of these companies. Inox, a supply mentioned, is a probable candidate.
“After the initial growth of the first six months last year, the OTT content business has not grown as fast as the company expected. There are three to four deals in this space being evaluated currently, including some distressed assets. Amazon India is in advanced talks with some of them,” a supply near the event mentioned.
To a selected question on the problem, a spokesperson for Amazon India mentioned, “We do not comment on speculations about what we may or may not do in future”.
Inox Leisure didn’t reply to a request for remark. On Monday, the film exhibition firm’s share on the BSE ended buying and selling at Rs 302.90, 1.87% greater than its earlier shut.
Inox Leisure, one of many largest film theatre chains within the nation with 153 multiplexes and 648 screens, has been hit by the pandemic-induced lockdowns throughout the nation. For the 12 months ended March 2021, the corporate posted a web lack of Rs 257 crore, in opposition to a revenue of Rs 141 crore for 2019-20 (April-March). Around 40 per cent of Inox Leisure’s screens are current within the western a part of the nation, adopted by north, south and east. As of June 30, Inox Leisure’s promoters held 43.63% stake, whereas 56.23% is public-owned.
The greatest participant within the house, PVR Ltd, reported a web lack of Rs 665.64 crore for 2020-21 as in opposition to a revenue of Rs 131.04 crore within the earlier 12 months. PVR has 176 cinemas and 842 screens throughout the nation.

Shares of Inox Leisure had been at Rs 328.5 on January 28 and traded within the Rs 305-335 vary until March 18, after which it began declining and reached a low of Rs 251 on April 19 — when the second surge of Covid-19 peaked.
Shares of PVR adopted nearly an analogous trajectory over the interval, buying and selling at ranges of Rs 1,450 on January 28, after which slipping to Rs 1,015.25 on April 19. As of Monday, PVR’s scrip ended buying and selling at Rs 1,329.90.

In 2019-20, US-based Amazon is learnt to have invested $1.5 billion in its Indian enterprise, bulk of which was pumped into the e-commerce enterprise.
Experts monitoring the sector identified {that a} main deal by Amazon within the leisure house may see the corporate rising its concentrate on this facet of its enterprise, away from e-commerce, the place the corporate is battling coverage modifications and huge gamers comparable to Walmart-backed Flipkart and Reliance Retail.
Last 12 months, Amazon started discussions to accumulate ailing US-based theatre chain AMC, however the talks reportedly fell by way of. “In India, the film exhibition market is quite different from the US because the average revenue generated by movie theatres in the US per customer is much higher than in India,” a Gurgaon-based advisor mentioned.