PremiumNEW DELHI: Uday Shankar, former president of the Walt Disney Co. APAC and chairman, Star and Disney India, has set up a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) with James Murdoch, former chief executive of 21st Century Fox Inc. James, the son of media mogul Rupert Murdoch has joined Shankar to raise $345 million for their new media and tech venture, said a report by American website Deadline.
The company, Seven Island Inc. is using the blank-check vehicle to raise cash from investors in an IPO.
The Deadline report quotes from the company’s prospectus that says: “While our efforts to identify a prospective target business will not necessarily be limited to a particular industry, sector or region, we intend to capitalize on our expertise in the media, entertainment, consumer technology, healthcare, and education industries in Southeast and South Asia, with a particular focus on India. Our acquisition and value creation strategy is to identify, acquire and, after our initial business combination, fundamentally enhance the value of a company in the public markets."
It adds that apart from Murdoch and Shankar, the Seven Island executive team includes partners at Murdoch’s Lupa Systems, such as general counsel Jeff Palker. National Geographic chairman Gary Knell will serve as a director.
Lupa is a private investment vehicle with a presence in New York and Mumbai and has invested in online learning institution Harappa Education in India.
In January, the Financial Times had first reported that Murdoch and Shankar aim to build a “large-scale" business in digital media, education and healthcare delivery, developed in part through acquisitions. Murdoch told FT that it would be a “major priority" and a “centre of gravity" for his Lupa Systems holding company.
Murdoch’s and Shankar’s association goes back a long way. The latter was overseeing News Corp.’s Asia business in the late-2000s. Walt Disney later acquired 21st Century Fox in a $71 billion cash-and-stock deal in June 2018, which made Star India, Fox Star Studios, and Hotstar part of Walt Disney.
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