Reliance Industries Limited, Viacom 18 Media Private Limited (Viacom18) and The Walt Disney Company announced the signing of agreements for a joint venture that will combine the businesses of Viacom18 and Star India.
According to a joint press release, the media undertaking of Viacom18 will be merged into Star India Private Limited through a court-approved scheme of arrangement.
Nita Mukesh Ambani will be the chairperson of the joint venture, with Uday Shankar as Vice chairperson providing strategic guidance to the joint venture.
In addition, Reliance Industries has agreed to invest at closing ₹11,500 crore (USD 1.4 billion) into the joint venture for its growth strategy.
The transaction valued the joint venture at ₹70,352 crore (USD 8.5 billion) on a post-money basis, excluding synergies
Post completion of all the processes, the joint venture will be controlled by Reliance Industries and owned 16.34 % by Reliance Industries, 46.82 % by Viacom18 and 36.84 % by Disney.
The release added, ‘Disney may also contribute certain additional media assets to the joint venture, subject to regulatory and third-party approvals’.
The JV will be one of the leading TV and digital streaming platforms for entertainment and sports content in Bharat, bringing together iconic media assets across entertainment (e.g. Colors, StarPlus, StarGOLD) and sports (e.g. Star Sports and Sports18) including access to highly anticipated events across television and digital platforms through JioCinema and Hotstar.
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