Reliance Industries (RIL), Viacom 18 Media (Viacom18) and The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) (Disney) today announced that following the approval by the Hon'ble NCLT Mumbai, Competition Commission of India and other regulatory authorities, the merger of the media and JioCinema businesses of Viacom18 into Star India (SIPL) has become effective (the JV). In addition, RIL has invested Rs 11,500 crore (~US$ 1.4 billion) into the JV for its growth. The JV has allotted shares to Viacom18 and RIL as consideration for the assets and cash, respectively.
The transaction values the JV at Rs 70,352 crore (~US$ 8.5 billion) on a post-money basis, excluding synergies. At the closing of the transactions noted above, the JV is controlled by RIL and owned 16.34% by RIL, 46.82% by Viacom18 and 36.84% by Disney.
Nita M. Ambani will be the Chairperson of the JV, with Uday Shankar as Vice Chairperson providing strategic guidance to the JV.
The JV will be one of the largest Media & Entertainment companies in India with pro forma combined revenue of approximately Rs 26,000 crore (~US$ 3.1 billion) for the fiscal year ended in March 2024. The JV operates over 100 TV channels and produces 30,000+ hours of TV entertainment content annually. The JioCinema and Hotstar digital platforms have an aggregate subscription base of over 50 million. The JV holds a portfolio of sports rights across cricket, football and other sports.
In a separate transaction, RIL has bought out Paramount Global's entire stake of 13.01% in Viacom18 for ₹ 4,286 crore. As a result, Viacom18 is owned 70.49% by RIL, 13.54% by Network18 Media & Investments Ltd. and 15.97% by Bodhi Tree Systems, on a fully-diluted basis.