India, Jan. 3 -- Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani's Excel Entertainment has joined hands with Hollywood giant Universal Music Group (International). The international conglomerate has acquired a minority stake in Excel, according to information received by HT. According to sources, talks between the two companies have been ongoing for months.

The new partnership would help Universal strengthen its presence in the Indian film market. It also allows Excel to expand the scale of its productions, with several big ideas already in the pipeline.

Notably, the new partnership will be formally announced soon at a press conference, where Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis will also be present. Both parties refer to the collaboration as...