MUMBAI: The mouse house is playing its final hand in India. The Bob Iger headed entertainment major has lined up a deal under which it will be selling its near 30 per cent stake in DTH firm Tata Play to the Tata Group. The transaction values India’s most respected pay TV operator at $1 billion, according to a report by Bloomberg.

The exit by Disney will allow it to merge its India business with the Mukesh Ambani-owned Viacom18.

Disney pocketed its holding in Tata Play when it acquired the entertainment business of Twenty First Century Fox from News Corp which landed it the Star India network.

Tata Play, which has seen in an erosion in subscriber numbers, like most in the pay TV business, thanks to the expansion of the government-owned Free Dish, and cord cutting which has seen in the growth of streaming services.

It has been looking at unlocking value and attracting capital, and even started the process for an IPO in 2020, which it later dropped.

With the acquisition of Disney’s 30 per cent, the Tatas will retain total ownership of Tata Play.