Merger of Reliance-Disney’s entertainment business completed
New Delhi| Reliance Industries, Viacom 18 Media and Walt Disney Co reported that the merger of Viacom 18’s media and geocinema businesses into Star India went into effect, after receiving approval from NCLT Mumbai, the Competition Commission of India and other regulatory authorities. In addition, RIL also invested Rs 11,500 crore (US$1.4 billion) in the joint venture after the merger. The joint venture has allocated shares to Viacom 18 and Reliance (RIL) against assets and cash respectively.
The value of the joint venture in this transaction is estimated at Rs 70,352 crore (US$8.5 billion). The joint venture will be controlled by RIL following the transactions noted above and will own 16.34% of RIL, 46.82% of Viacom18 and 36.84% of Disney.
Nita Mukesh Ambani will be the chairperson of the joint venture, while Uday Shankar will be the vice-chairperson, who will provide strategic guidance to the joint venture. At the same time, Kevin Vaz, Kiran Mani, Sanjog Gupta will co-lead the new Star India. The joint venture will operate the most reputable and attractive media brands on TV and digital platforms in India. Talking about television, the integration of ‘Star’ and ‘Colors’ and ‘Geocinema’ and ‘Hotstar’ on the digital front will provide a wide choice of entertainment and sports content to audiences in India and across the world. The formation of the joint venture will usher in a new era for consumers in India’s entertainment industry. This unique joint venture between Reliance and Disney reflects the content creation and curation capabilities of the companies, world-class digital streaming capabilities as well as the Digital First approach. This approach will give the joint venture the option to provide unmatched content at affordable prices to the Indian audience and the Indian diaspora globally.
The joint venture will be one of the largest media and entertainment companies in India, with combined revenue of around Rs 26,000 crore (US$ 3.1 billion) as per the financial year data ending in March 2024. The joint venture operates more than 100 TV channels and produces 30,000+ hours of TV entertainment content annually. The Geocinema and Hotstar digital platforms have a total subscription base of over 50 million. The joint venture has a portfolio of sports rights in cricket, football and other sports.
The deal was approved by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) on 27 August 2024. Apart from the CCI, the deal has also been approved by anti-trust officials of the European Union, China, Turkey, South Korea and Ukraine. Talking about the joint venture, Reliance Industries Chairman and Managing Director Mukesh Ambani said, “With the formation of this joint venture, the Indian media and entertainment industry is entering a transformative era”. Our deep creative expertise and relationship with Disney, as well as our unmatched understanding of the Indian consumer will ensure unmatched content choices at affordable prices for the Indian audience. I am very excited about the future of the joint venture and wish it every success
Disney CEO said – This is an exciting moment for companies as well as customers
Walt Disney Chief Executive Officer Robert A. “This merger is an exciting moment for both the companies as well as the consumers of India, as we are building one of the top entertainment entities in the country through this joint venture”, Iger said. Together with Reliance, we are able to expand our presence in this important media market and provide audiences with an even stronger portfolio of entertainment, sports content and digital services”
In a separate deal, Reliance (RIL) has bought Paramount Global’s entire stake of 13.01% in Viacom18 for Rs 4,286 crore. Now, RIL holds 70.49%, Network18 Media & Investment 13.54% and Bodhi Tree Systems 15.97% in Viacom18 on a fully diluted basis.
