Disney and Reliance logos are seen in this illustration.
Credit: Reuters File Photo
Bengaluru: Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), The Walt Disney Company and Viacom 18 Pvt Ltd, on Thursday, announced the completion of merging Viacom18’s media and Jio Cinema businesses into Star India.
RIL has pumped in an additional Rs 11,500 crore for the growth of the joint venture. As per the share allotted to Reliance and Viacom18, the valuation of the merged entity stands at Rs 70,352 crore, with Reliance-owned Viacom18 holding 46.82 per cent, Disney 36.84 per cent and RIL 16.34 per cent.
Nita M Ambani will be the chairperson of the merged company, with Uday Shankar as vice chairperson.
The Competition Commission of India approved the transaction on 27 August, subject to the compliance with certain voluntary modifications offered by the parties. The National Company Law Tribunal also gave its nod in August. The transaction has also been approved by anti-trust authorities in the EU, China, Turkey, South Korea and Ukraine.
The JV will be spearheaded by three CEOs. Kevin Vaz will head the entertainment organisation across platforms. Kiran Mani will take charge of the combined digital organisation. Sanjog Gupta will lead the combined sports organisation.
In a separate transaction, RIL bought out Paramount Global’s entire stake of 13.01 per cent in Viacom18 for Rs 4,286 crore. As a result, Viacom18 is owned 70.49 per cent by RIL, 13.54 per cent by Network18 Media & Investments Ltd and 15.97 per cent by Bodhi Tree Systems, on a fully-diluted basis.
The new company’s pro forma combined revenue is approximately Rs 26,000 crore ($ 3.1 billion) for the fiscal year ended in March 2024.