'Ramayana' Maker's ₹5,333 Cr deal Triggers 38× Jump in Media & Entertainment FDI in Q2 FY26

Foreign direct investment (FDI) into India’s information and broadcasting (I&B) sector rose sharply in the July-September quarter of the financial year 2025-26 (FY26), driven by strong overseas interest in films, advertising and visual effects, according to government data.

FDI inflows into the sector stood at ₹5,586 crore in the second quarter of FY26, a massive jump from just ₹147 crore in the same period last year. The surge was largely due to foreign investors increasing their stakes in content creation, production and post-production companies, with films and advertising attracting the bulk of the investments.

The strong September-quarter performance marks a clear turnaround from the previous quarter. During April-June FY26, FDI inflows into the I&B sector had dropped sharply to ₹552.45 crore, compared with ₹3,374.73 crore in the same quarter of FY25.

Government data shows that films and advertising together accounted for ₹5,530 crore of total inflows during the September quarter, while radio broadcasting attracted ₹56 crore. These investments came through multiple routes, including the Reserve Bank of India’s automatic route, the government approval route and the acquisition of shares route.

An analysis by The Economic Times found that visual effects and post-production major Prime Focus was the biggest beneficiary during the quarter, raising a total of ₹5,333.33 crore in foreign investment.

Prime Focus is a key player in India’s film and content ecosystem and is also the main producer and financier behind the upcoming two-part live-action film 'Ramayana', directed by Nitesh Tiwari and starring Ranbir Kapoor, Yash and Sai Pallavi.

During the quarter, Prime Focus received ₹1,914.45 crore and ₹1,229.37 crore from Prime Focus A2R Holdings, Luxembourg, in two separate tranches. It also raised ₹1,163.59 crore and ₹171.83 crore from Novator Capital, Cyprus, and ₹414.27 crore from Bresino Projects, Cyprus.

Other investments into Prime Focus-linked entities included ₹139.82 crore from Prabhu Narasimhan, UAE; ₹120 crore from Belongerio, Cyprus; and ₹90 crore each from Granelo Ventures and Hulino Projects, both based in Cyprus.

Film production company IVY Entertainment also attracted fresh foreign capital during the quarter. Its overseas parent, IVY Entertainment Holdings, UAE, invested ₹51.65 crore and an additional ₹25.82 crore into its Indian operations.

Mumbai-based content producer Seventaurus Entertainment Studio raised ₹10.15 crore, with its French parent company Banijay SAS investing ₹7.63 crore and ₹2.52 crore through the acquisition of shares route.

Music and television broadcaster 9X Media received ₹55 crore in foreign investment from private equity firm New Silk Route’s NSR PE Mauritius LLC. The funding came in multiple tranches of ₹26.20 crore, ₹14 crore, ₹11.30 crore and ₹3.50 crore during the quarter.

Overall, the sharp rise in FDI highlights renewed international confidence in India’s films, advertising and visual effects ecosystem, as global investors step up bets on the country’s growing media and content market, ET reported.