Apple could be about to make a bold move towards becoming a truly global player in content ownership.
The Cupertino giant is reportedly getting closer to a $1bn acquisition of the film and music library of Eros Group.
Eros is the largest movie producer in India, counting more than 3,000 films across Bollywood and other productions under its control.
The music recordings associated with these movies is housed under subsidiary Eros Music.
According to the Economic Times, Amazon and Netflix are also interested in potentially purchasing Eros’s content library.
In order to tidy up its structure pre-acquisition, Eros Group is planning a reverse merger of its NYSE-listed subsidiary Eros International and the India-based parent Eros International Media, which handles the majority of content production.
Eros Music currently sits under Eros International.
In addition to these entities, Apple may consider a bid for Eros’s digital movie platform, Eros Now, dubbed the ‘Netflix of Bollywood’ with rights to more than 10,000 movies.
Eros Now has nearly 2.9 million paid subscribers and over 100 million registered subscribers, and is also housed under US entity Eros International.
JM Financial is advising Eros throughout potential negotiation discussions.
Eros and Apple both declined to comment on the speculation.Music Business Worldwide
