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Adar Poonawalla acquires 50% stake in Dharma Productions

25 Oct 2024

Karan Johar will retain a 50% stake and his position as the Executive Chairman.

Adar Poonawalla’s entertainment business, Serene Productions, signed a binding agreement to become a co-owner of Dharma Productions and Dharmatic Entertainment for ₹1,000 crore.


Adar Poonawalla, CEO, Serum Institute of India, beat JioCinema and Saregama to become a Dharma co-owner.  The other two deals did not go through due to differences over Dharma’s valuation. Serene Productions valued Dharma at ₹2,000 crores.


This move is expected to encourage more corporate investments and transparency in the film industry.


Karan Johar will continue as the Executive Chairman and Apoorva Mehta as the CEO. The deal will provide a much-needed capital influx and reputed investors for Dharma, which hasn’t delivered a blockbuster hit in some time. It launched Dharmatic Entertainment, the digital content production vertical, in 2018, to produce series and movies.


This is Poonawalla’s second significant investment outside pharma since 2021, when he bought a 20% stake in Wakau Interactive, the social media platform.

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