Reliance-Disney Merger: Rs 70,352 Crore JV Complete, Announces Mukesh Ambani's Company

Reliance-Disney Merger: Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), on Thursday, announced the completion of a Joint Venture (JV) with Walt Disney Company. In an exchange filing, RIL said that following the approval by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) Mumbai, Competition Commission of India and other regulatory authorities, the merger of the media and JioCinema businesses of Viacom18 into Star India Private Limited (SIPL) has become effective. Nita M Ambani will be the Chairperson of the JV, with Uday Shankar as Vice Chairperson.

Reliance Industries Limited-Disney JV complete: Check the latest update

The company further said that in addition to the completion of the JV, the Mukesh Ambani -led company has invested Rs 11,500 crore into the JV for its growth. “The transaction values the JV at ₹ 70,352 crore (~US$ 8.5 billion) on a post-money basis, excluding synergies. At the closing of the transactions noted above, the JV is controlled by RIL and owned 16.34% by RIL, 46.82% by Viacom18 and 36.84% by Disney,” RIL said in a statement.

The JV, which is set to create a mammoth media conglomerate, will have a pro forma combined revenue of approximately Rs 26,000 crore. The joint venture will result in the combination of Star and Colors on the television side and JioCinema and Hotstar on the digital front.

RIL-Disney merger: Key takeaways from the JV

• The Competition Commission of India approved the transaction on August 27, 2024. 
• In a separate transaction, RIL has bought out Paramount Global’s entire stake of 13.01% in Viacom18 for Rs 4,286 crore.
• The JV will be spearheaded by three CEOs
• Kevin Vaz will head the entertainment organisation across platforms
• Kiran Mani will lead the digital business
• Sanjog Gupta will lead the combined sports organisation