Ahead of merger with Disney, Nita Ambani, Akash Ambani join Viacom18 board

Reliance Foundation Chairperson Nita Ambani and Reliance Jio Infocomm Chairman Akash Ambani have joined the board of Viacom18 ahead of its merger with the India business of global media giant Walt Disney, industry sources said.

Viacom18 is the holding company that owns the media and entertainment business of billionaire Mukesh Ambani -led Reliance Industries and Bodhi Tree Systems.

The appointments came after the Star India merger, owned by Walt Disney and Viacom18, cleared the regulatory clearances from the fair trade regulator CCI and National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT).

Now both sides are in the final stages of the merger, making some adjustments in the business as per the Competition Commission of India (CCI) directions.

Besides, other people, including James Murdoch, co-promoter of Bodhi Tree Systems; Mohammed Ahmed Al-Hardan, head of technology, media, and telecom at the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), a key investor in Bodhi Tree are joining the board after its reconstitution.

In addition, Jyoti Deshpande, president of media and content business at RIL, and Shuva Mandal, partner at Anagram Partners, have also been appointed to the Viacom 18 board.

Earlier on August 30, the NCLT had approved the scheme of merger of Viacom18 Media and Digital 18 Media, holding media and entertainment assets of Reliance Industries with Star India.

The scheme had proposed the transfer and vesting of Media Operations Undertaking from Viacom 18 and Jio Cinema into Digital18, which is a subsidiary of Viacom 18. This would be followed by "demerger, transfer and vesting of V18 Undertaking from Digital 18 into Star India".

The merger of the media assets of Reliance Industries and The Walt Disney Co. will create the country's largest media empire worth over Rs 70,000 crore.

Earlier, the CCI had said it has cleared the "proposed combination involving Reliance Industries Ltd, Viacom18 Media Pvt Ltd, Digital18 Media Ltd, Star India Pvt Ltd and Star Television Productions Ltd, subject to the compliance of voluntary modifications".

Viacom18 is part of the RIL group, and SIPL is wholly owned by The Walt Disney Company. STPL, a company incorporated in the British Virgin Islands, is owned indirectly by Walt Disney.

The CCI, however, did not disclose voluntary modifications in the original deal made by the two parties.

Under the deal, Mukesh Ambani -led RIL and its affiliates will hold 63.16 per cent of the combined entity that will house two streaming services and 120 television channels.

Walt Disney will hold the remaining 36.84 per cent stake in the combined entity, which will also be India's largest media house.

Reliance Industries has also agreed to invest close to Rs 11,500 crore into the joint venture to give it the muscle to fight rivals like Japan's Sony and Netflix.

Nita Ambani, wife of billionaire and RIL Chairman Mukesh Ambani , will head the joint venture, while Uday Shankar will be the vice-chairperson.