Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), Viacom 18 Media Private Limited and The Walt Disney Company have completed a deal to form a joint venture Star India Private Limited (SIPL) as part of the merger of the Indian assets of Viacom18 and JioCinema media companies. This is reported in the Reliance press release.
In August 2024, the Indian antitrust regulator (Competition Commission of India) approved the merger of the Indian media divisions of Walt Disney Co. and Reliance Industries Ltd. subject to the proposed remedies. The deal was also approved by the antitrust authorities of the EU, China, Turkey and South Korea.
The permits obtained allowed the completion of a deal to combine the media assets of Reliance (Viacom18 Media Pvt. and Digital18 Media Ltd.) and the Indian assets of Disney (Star India and Star Television), aimed at creating the largest media company in India.
Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) has invested $1.4 billion in the development of the SIPL joint venture with a total value of $8.5 billion and total revenue of $3.1 billion.
In a separate transaction, RIL bought out Paramount Global's entire 13.01% stake in Viacom18 for 4,286 crore yen. As a result, 70.49% of Viacom18 shares are owned by RIL, 13.54% by Network18 Media & Investments Ltd. and 15.97% by Bodhi Tree Systems.
After the deal closes, Reliance Industries will control more than 60% of the new joint venture, including 16% under direct management and 47% through Viacom's media business18. Disney will own 37%.
The joint venture represents India's most well-known and attractive media brands on television and digital platforms (Star and Colors on television and JioCinema and Hotstar on the digital market), which will provide a wide range of entertainment and sports content for viewers in India and around the world. The joint venture will manage 100 TV channels with a total subscriber base of JioCinema and Hotstar digital platforms of over 50 million users.
In February 2024, Reliance Industries Limited Ltd. and Walt Disney Co. signed a binding agreement to merge the media business in India, according to which Disney will sell 61% of the shares of the Indian subsidiary of Disney Star to the Viacom 18 media division under the management of Reliance, and the remaining shares will remain owned by Disney.
Viacom18 is the broadcasting division of Reliance Industries, whose shareholders are Paramount Global and Bodhi Tree, which invested $500 million in the Indian company in April 2023.
Reliance is an Indian conglomerate run by billionaire Mukesh Ambani. Reliance owns Indian businesses in the energy, petrochemical, natural resources, retail and telecommunications sectors and is the largest non-government company in India. The headquarters is located in Navi (satellite city of Mumbai).
Disney Star is an Indian operator of the Disney company in the field of broadcasting shows, sports, children's content and TV series. The company broadcasts music, movies, sports, cartoons and news through a digital channel. The headquarters is located in Mumbai (India).
Disney is an American multinational media corporation and the world's largest media conglomerate in the entertainment industry. The headquarters is located on the territory of Walt Disney Studios (Burbank, California).
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