Reliance-Disney Merger: Interesting Facts - Numbers, Leadership Team, Other Details

Reliance and Disney, on Thursday, announced the completion of their Joint Venture (JV) . In an exchange filing, Mukesh Ambani -led Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) said that the merger is set to create one of the biggest media conglomerates in India. The joint venture of JioCinema, businesses of Viacom18 into Star India Private Limited has become effective, following the approval of  NCLT Mumbai. Nita M. Ambani will be the Chairperson of the Joint Venture, and Uday Shankar will be Vice Chairperson. Together they will provide strategic guidance to the venture. The JV will be a combination of ‘Star’ and ‘Colors’ on the television side and ‘JioCinema’ and ‘Hotstar’ on the digital front.

What Are The Investments Involved?

Reliance has invested Rs11,500 crore, or US$ 1.4 billion into the joint venture. The venture has allotted shares to Viacom18 and RIL as consideration for the cash and assets, respectively, the filing said. In total, the joint venture is valued Rs 70,352 crore or US$ 8.5 billion on a post-money basis, excluding synergies. The venture is controlled by Reliance, and owned 46.82 per cent by Viacom18, 36.84 per cent by Disney, and16.34 per cent by Reliance. 

Key Positions 

While Nita Ambani and Uday Shankar are the Chairperson of the JV, there are other key positions as well. The JV will be spearheaded by three CEOs who will lead the company into a new era of ambition and disruption. Kevin Vaz will head the entertainment organisation across platforms. Kiran Mani will take charge of the combined digital organization. Sanjog Gupta will lead the combined sports organisation, the filing said.

What Does The Leadership Say?

Speaking about the JV, Mr. Mukesh D Ambani, Chairman & Managing Director of Reliance Industries Limited, said in the exchange filing, “With the formation of this JV, the Indian media and entertainment industry is entering a transformational era. Our deep creative expertise and relationship with Disney, along with our unmatched understanding of the Indian consumer will ensure unparalleled content choices at affordable prices for Indian viewers. I am very excited about the JV’s future and wish it all the success.” “This is an exciting moment for our two companies, as well as for India’s consumers, as we create one of the top entertainment entities in the country through this joint venture,” said Mr. Robert A. Iger, Chief Executive Officer, The Walt Disney Company in the filing. “By joining forces with Reliance, we are able to expand our presence in this important media market and deliver viewers an even more robust portfolio of entertainment, sports content, and digital services.”

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