Billionaire industrialist Mukesh Ambani’s company Reliance Industries has sought approval from the Competition Commission of India (CCI) for the merger of Viacom 18 and Star India Pvt. CCI said the proposed transaction aims to combine the entertainment businesses of Viacom18 and Star India Pvt Ltd. Let us tell you that Viacom18 is part of the Reliance Industries Limited group, while The Walt Disney Company (TWDC) owns Star India Private Limited.
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What the regulator said
Post the transaction, Star India Pvt Ltd will become a joint venture (JV), jointly managed by subsidiaries of RIL, Viacom18 and TWDC, the regulator said. Reliance Industries has stated in the notice that the proposed transaction will not have any adverse effect on competition in India. After completion of the merger, the joint venture will be controlled by RIL. RIL will hold 16.34 percent, Viacom18 46.82 percent and Disney 36.84 percent.
Nita Ambani is in charge
After the deal, it will become the largest company in the Indian media and entertainment sector. It will have more than 100 channels in multiple languages, two major OTT platforms and a viewer base of 750 million across the country. The new firm will be headed by Nita Ambani while Uday Shankar will be the vice chairman.
Variety of content on one platform
The joint venture will be one of the leading TV and digital streaming platforms for entertainment and sports content in India. The move will bring in popular media assets including entertainment (such as Colors, StarPlus, StarGold) and sports (such as Star Sports and Sports18). It will also include digital platforms like JioCinema and Hotstar. The combined entity will be given exclusive rights to broadcast films and programs made under the Disney banner in India along with licenses to over 30,000 Disney content assets. The deal is expected to close in the last quarter of 2024 or the first quarter of 2025.