BENGALURU, May 22 (Reuters) - Walt Disney ( DIS ) has

struck a deal to sell its stake in Tata Play, valuing Indian

conglomerate Tata Group's satellite TV provider at about $1

billion, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing people

familiar with the matter.

The stake sale news comes as the U.S.-based media giant

looks to focus on its merger with India's top conglomerate,

Reliance Industries, in a bid to create an $8.5

billion entertainment juggernaut far ahead of rivals in the

world's most populous nation.

Last month, Tata Sons, the holding company of India's Tata

Group, increased its stake in Tata Play to 70% by buying a 10%

stake from Singapore state investment firm Temasek for about

$100 million, local media had reported.

With Temasek's exit, Tata Play operates as a 70:30 joint

venture between Tata and Disney ( DIS ). The change in the ratio of

joint venture shareholding post the stake sale news are not

mentioned in the Bloomberg report.

Disney ( DIS ) and Tata Group did not immediately respond to

Reuters' requests for comment.

Disney ( DIS ) took its stake in Tata Play from the acquisition of

Star India via the purchase of 21st Century Fox's India assets

in 2017.