The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has approved the merger of Reliance’s subsidiary company Viacom-18 and Disney. CCI has given information about the confirmation of this deal on social media platform X. The Competition Commission of India has written in the post that the proposal related to the merger of Reliance Industries, Viacom-18 Media Private Limited, Digital-18 Media Limited, Star India Limited and Star Television Productions Limited has been approved. This is subject to some voluntary modifications. Under the terms of the deal, Viacom-18’s media operation will be merged with Star India Private Limited (SIPL). The joint venture is valued at Rs 70,350 crore on a post-money basis, in which Reliance will invest Rs 11,500 crore in the venture for its growth strategy. The merger was announced in February 2024
CCI has made this announcement a day before the 47th Annual General Meeting of RIL. In February 2024, RIL subsidiary Viacom-18 and Disney’s Indian unit Star India announced the merger of their businesses to create one of India’s largest TV and digital streaming platforms. 120 channels after merger, 40% share in advertising market
In the last few years, both the companies have attracted users by showing cricket matches for free on some of their streaming platforms. Reliance-Disney aims to become India’s largest entertainment player, which will compete with companies like Sony, Netflix and Amazon. The new entity formed by their merger will include 120 TV channels and two streaming services. Brokerage firm Jefferies says that the joint venture of Disney and Reliance will have a 40% share in the advertising market of the TV and streaming segment. Reliance is India’s largest private sector company
Reliance is India’s largest private sector company, with a market cap of Rs 20,29710.68 crore. Reliance currently operates in hydrocarbon exploration and production, petroleum refining and marketing, petrochemicals, advanced materials and composites, renewable energy (solar and hydrogen), digital services and retail sectors.
