UK-based firm, Kalam Media forge $100 mn joint venture

Jakarta/New Delhi/Patna, Sep 23: In a bid to form India's largest startup in the media and entertainment space, a UK-based business conglomerate SRam and MRam Ltd has signed a joint venture with Indian media house Kalam Media, officials said on Friday.

The joint venture -- SRam and MRam Kalam Media Pvt Ltd -- is headquartered in India and will source high demand media and entertainment content from across India and distribute it through a global network across the Americas, Europe, the Far East and Australia.

Kalam Media Chairman Ashutosh Singh confirmed to IANS over phone from Jakarta that the joint venture agreement was signed between the companies at Jakarta. "We have signed a joint venture of $100 million (Rs 670 crore)," he said.

He said they will tap the $6.25 billion (Rs 42,000 crore) Indian market and the $50 billion global market.

Over the next three months, they will establish its base in key Indian cities, including the top eight metros, directly and through associates. 

Parallely, it will forge alliances with global entertainment and developmental platforms across 12 key business centres in the Americas, Europe and the Far East.

He also said that they will take up the uncharted territories of creating content producers at district level to promote regional content in the true spirit of "Skilling India".

SRam and MRam's Chairman Sailesh Hiranandani said in a statement: "...In the first phase, we will be focusing on producing, aggregating and distributing unique content across key geographies including Indonesia."

Their first project will be a film produced in Indonesia. Hiranandani hoped this will improve cross-cultural interaction between Indian and Indonesian film industries.