<\/p>\n
\n\tUniversal Music<\/a> Group\u2019s Indian division has secured a significant minority stake in one of Bollywood\u2019s leading production houses, gaining global soundtrack rights in the process, it was confirmed on Monday. <\/p>\n \n\tUniversal Music India has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire a 30% equity stake in Excel Entertainment<\/a>, valuing the Mumbai-based film and digital content studio at INR2,400 crores ($267 million). The strategic partnership grants UMG global distribution rights for all future original soundtracks from Excel\u2019s projects.<\/p>\n \n\tFounded in 1999 by producers Ritesh Sidhwani<\/a> and Farhan Akhtar<\/a>, Excel Entertainment has established itself as a major force in Indian cinema and streaming content. The studio\u2019s slate includes critically acclaimed titles such as \u201cGully Boy\u201d (India\u2019s 2019 Academy Awards submission), \u201cZindagi Na Milegi Dobara,\u201d and \u201cDil Chahta Hai,\u201d as well as Prime Video\u2019s Emmy-nominated series \u201cInside Edge\u201d and popular shows \u201cMirzapur\u201d and \u201cMade in Heaven.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tUnder the agreement, UMG will launch a dedicated Excel music label with global distribution, while Universal Music Publishing Group becomes Excel\u2019s exclusive music publishing partner. The arrangement creates opportunities for UMG\u2019s existing artist roster to be featured in Excel\u2019s future productions.<\/p>\n \n\tDevraj Sanyal, chairman and CEO of Universal Music India and South Asia and senior VP of strategy for Africa, Middle East and Asia, will join Excel Entertainment\u2019s board of directors. Sidhwani and Akhtar will continue overseeing creative direction and content decisions.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cIndia\u2019s entertainment landscape continues to grow from strength to strength, and this is the perfect moment to build meaningful global collaborations,\u201d Sidhwani and Akhtar said in a joint statement. \u201cWe\u2019re excited to partner with UMG in what we believe will be a truly creative and transformative alliance \u2013 one that unlocks fresh opportunities for artists and repertoire across music, film, and emerging formats. Together, we aim to take culturally rooted stories to the world.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tVishal Ramchandani, Excel Entertainment\u2019s CEO, added: \u201cThis partnership with UMG marks a pivotal step in our journey to broaden creative opportunities and tell Indian stories with a global lens. With a shared vision for innovation and excellence, we aim to transform Excel into a creative global studio \u2013 one that brings clutter-breaking, original content to audiences across platforms and geographies.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tThe deal strengthens UMG\u2019s position in India, currently the world\u2019s 15th-largest recorded music market by revenue according to IFPI data. Original soundtracks remain central to India\u2019s music consumption, with the genre showing continued growth among local listeners.<\/p>\n \n\tAdam Granite, UMG\u2019s CEO of Africa, Middle East and Asia, said: \u201cToday\u2019s announcement further strengthens UMG\u2019s position in India, a dynamic and strategically important music market for the group globally. Original soundtracks remain at the heart of India\u2019s fast-growing music market, with Indian listeners showing a growing desire to access more music in that genre. By investing in and partnering with Excel Entertainment, UMG will be uniquely positioned to contribute from the earliest stage to Excel\u2019s future endeavours and throughout the creative process, providing huge benefits to both parties.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tSanyal added: \u201cFarhan and Ritesh have built an exceptionally impressive business, and we\u2019re thrilled to be working with them on the next phase of their journey. The Indian film scene presents a hugely exciting opportunity for music and the music-led entertainment business, and Excel is the perfect partner for us to work with going forward.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tIndia\u2019s digital entertainment sector presents significant growth opportunities, with more than 375 million over-the-top viewers and 650 million smartphone users consuming content across multiple platforms.<\/p>\n \n\tAZB & Partners served as legal counsel to UMG, with KPMG acting as transaction advisor. Morgan Stanley advised Excel Entertainment as financial advisor, with Khaitan & Co. providing legal counsel. Ernst & Young served as transaction advisor to Excel Entertainment.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source variety.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Universal Music Group\u2019s Indian division has secured a significant minority stake in one of Bollywood\u2019s leading production houses, gaining global soundtrack rights in the process, it was confirmed on Monday. Universal Music India has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire a 30% equity stake in Excel Entertainment, valuing the Mumbai-based film and digital content […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2222401,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25172],"tags":[429865,419552,429866,348281],"class_list":["post-2222400","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment","tag-excel-entertainment","tag-farhan-akhtar","tag-ritesh-sidhwani","tag-universal-music"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Universal-Music-Takes-30-Stake-in-Indias-Excel-Entertainment.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2222400","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2222400"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2222400\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2222402,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2222400\/revisions\/2222402"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2222401"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2222400"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2222400"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2222400"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}