(Reuters) - Japan's Sony Corp (T:6758) is in talks to acquire a stake in Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani's TV business, Network18 Media & Investments Ltd (NS:NEFI), Bloomberg reported on Thursday.
Sony is doing the due diligence and considering several potential deal options, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
Ambani's Reliance Industries (NS:RELI) and Sony did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.
Network18 Media & Investments Ltd (NS:NEFI) shares rose as much as 18.25% to their highest since June 13 and TV18 Broadcast Ltd (NS:TVEB) shares were up 4% on the report of the talks.
Network18's channel portfolio include VH1, Nickelodeon, MTV, CNBC TV18, and a range of other local language channels, along with news portals like Firstpost and Moneycontrol.
The media company also has a broad suite of news channels including CNN-News18, CNBC TV18, and other regional language news channels that together held over a 10% share in TV news viewership in India in fiscal 2018-19, according to its annual report.