reliance Industries has completed the merger of its media assets with the Indian business of global media house Walt Disney. With this, a new joint venture worth Rs 70,352 crore will come into existence. According to a joint statement of both the companies, Reliance Industries has invested Rs 11,500 crore ($1.4 billion) in this joint venture. The chairperson of the joint venture will be Nita Ambani herself. According to the statement, “After adding external investment in this transaction, the value of the joint venture is estimated at Rs 70,352 crore ($ 8.5 billion).”
Reliance Industries has complete control of the joint venture.
With the completion of the deal, control of the joint venture will remain with Reliance Industries. Reliance Industries holds 16.34 percent stake in this joint venture, while its subsidiary company Viacom 18 will hold 46.82 percent stake in the joint venture. Disney will hold the remaining 36.84 percent stake in the company. “Nita Ambani will be the chairperson of this joint venture, while Uday Shankar will be the vice chairman,” the statement said.
Merger approval had already been received from CCI and NCLT.
Viacom 18 Media and Walt Disney had already received approval from authorities like Competition Commission of India (CCI), National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) for the merger of Viacom 18's media and JioCinema business with Star India. This joint venture will be one of India's largest media and entertainment companies, with total revenue of about Rs 26,000 crore ($3.1 billion) for the last financial year (2023-24) ending March 2024.
Joint venture will have more than 100 TV channels
The joint venture has over 100 TV channels and produces over 30,000 hours of TV entertainment content annually. The total customer base of JioCinema and Hotstar digital platforms is more than 5 crores. The joint venture has a portfolio of sports rights across cricket, football and other sports.
Image Credit: India-Tv.