Universal Music India has acquired a significant minority stake in leading Indian production house Excel Entertainment, marking a major expansion of the global music company’s footprint in India’s rapidly growing entertainment market.
The deal, announced on Monday, values Excel Entertainment at ₹2,400 crore (approximately $290 million). Under the agreement, Universal Music India, a division of Universal Music Group, will acquire a 30 percent equity stake in the Mumbai-based studio. The partnership is positioned as a long-term strategic alliance spanning films, series, music and emerging content formats.
As part of the arrangement, UMG will secure global distribution rights for all future original soundtracks linked to projects produced or controlled by Excel. The companies will also launch a dedicated Excel music label, distributed worldwide by UMG, while Universal Music Publishing Group will serve as Excel’s exclusive publishing partner. The collaboration will also allow UMG and Universal Music India artists to feature across Excel-produced titles.
“This partnership with UMG marks a pivotal step in our journey to broaden creative opportunities and tell Indian stories with a global lens,” said Vishal Ramchandani, CEO of Excel Entertainment. “With a shared vision for innovation and excellence, we aim to transform Excel into a creative global studio — one that brings clutter-breaking, original content to audiences across platforms and geographies.”
Excel founders Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar, who launched the banner in 1999, will continue to guide its creative direction. As part of the deal, Devraj Sanyal, chairman and CEO of Universal Music India & South Asia and senior vice president of strategy for Africa, the Middle East and Asia, will join Excel’s board.
UMG executives said the investment allows the company to engage with Excel’s projects at an early development stage, particularly in music-led productions, in a market where film soundtracks remain central to listening habits and enjoy long replay value.
“Today’s announcement further strengthens UMG’s position in India, a dynamic and strategically important music market for the group globally,” said Adam Granite, CEO of UMG’s Africa, Middle East and Asia division. “Original soundtracks remain at the heart of India’s 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’s future endeavours and throughout the creative process, providing huge benefits to both parties.”
Founded with the success of Dil Chahta Hai in 2001, Excel Entertainment has built a prominent slate across theatrical films and streaming platforms. Its projects include Lakshya, Don, Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, Fukrey, Dil Dhadakne Do and Gully Boy, as well as series such as Inside Edge, Mirzapur, Made in Heaven, Dahaad and Netflix’s Dabba Cartel. The studio’s work has received both commercial success and international festival exposure at Cannes, Berlin and Toronto.
For Universal Music Group, the investment comes amid sustained growth in India, now the world’s 15th-largest recorded music market, where the connection between screen content and soundtrack consumption remains unusually strong. The companies pointed to India’s more than 375 million OTT viewers and approximately 650 million smartphone users as indicators of long-term opportunity.
Financial advisors on the transaction included Morgan Stanley for Excel Entertainment, with legal counsel provided by AZB & Partners for Universal Music Group and Khaitan & Co for Excel. Ernst & Young and KPMG served as transaction advisors.
Both companies said the partnership is aimed at creating new revenue streams, cross-platform collaborations and wider global exposure for Indian stories and artists, with further details on the new Excel music label and upcoming soundtracks to be announced in the coming months.
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