Excel Entertainment, the production house co-founded by Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani has become the focal point of India’s entertainment industry’s biggest minority-stake deal to date. Valued at ₹2,700 crore, the studio chose to retain majority control while selling a 30 percent stake for ₹800 crore to Universal Music Group (UMG). This bold move not only reinforces Excel’s position as a creative powerhouse, but also sets it apart from Dharma Productions which entered a similar partnership at a lower valuation with Adar Poonawalla’s Serene Productions. Both companies rose to prominence at the turn of the millennium, yet Excel’s stronger market standing has now attracted Universal Music Group – one of the world’s top three music giants, founded in 1934 and operating in India since 1999. For UMG, the investment is more than financial, it’s a strategic alignment with a studio that has consistently shaped modern Bollywood narratives and now stands poised to amplify its reach on a global stage.
