Chernin Group Acquires Stake in Graphic India

The Asian investment arm of Peter Chernin-led Chernin Group has acquired a large minority stake in Graphic India, a comic book and animation company that creates mythological and superhero characters for the Indian youth market.

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The company's content is also published across mobile and online platforms.

Financial terms of the deal weren't disclosed. Chernin used to be president and COO of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp.
 
Launched last year by media entrepreneurs Sharad Devarajan, Gotham Chopra and Suresh Seetharaman as a subsidiary of U.S. comic book firm Liquid Comics, Graphic India will now be jointly owned by Liquid and CA Media, the Asian investment vehicle of Chernin Group.

As part of the transaction, Liquid will contribute what the partners said is "one of the world’s largest and highest-quality comic book libraries based on Indian characters" to Graphic India.

Devarajan will become CEO of Graphic India and remain executive chairman of Liquid.

India more than 500 million consumers under the age of 25 and more than 850 million mobile phone users.
 
“India is home to some of the most creative minds in the world, and we believe that the next Batman, Harry Potter, Pokemon or The Avengers, can come from this country,” said Graphic India co-founder and CEO Devarajan. “At Graphic India, we intend to find, nurture and promote a new generation of creators to transform the world with their stories. ”

Email: Georg.Szalai@thr.com

Twitter: @georgszalai