Indian regulators give nod to Reliance and Disney’s $8.5B joint venture

Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) and Disney (NYSE:DIS) have received final approvals from competition regulators based in Mumbai for their $8.5B Indian joint initiative, which will leverage over 100 TV channels and have access to over 50M subscribers on digital streaming platforms and a portfolio of sports rights, including cricket and football, in India.

The Competition Commission of India approved the merger of the media and JioCinema businesses of Viacom18, owned by Reliance, into Star India Private Limited, owned by Disney, the companies said.

Reliance has injected $1.4B into the venture, which will be chaired by Nita Ambani, the wife of the Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani.

The JV, which has a pro forma revenue of $3.1B, has allotted shares to Viacom18 and RIL as consideration for the assets and cash, the companies said, and at closing, Reliance will collectively have a 63.16% controlling stake (Viacom18 stake 46.82% + RIL stake 16.34%), and the rest will be held by Disney.

“The JV is home to the most iconic and engaging media brands in India across TV and digital platforms. The combination of ‘Star’ and ‘Colors’ on the television side and ‘JioCinema’ and ‘Hotstar’ on the digital front will provide extensive choice of content across entertainment and sports to viewers in India and globally,” the companies said in a joint statement.

The transaction received approval on August 27 in India and has also been cleared by antitrust authorities in the EU, China, Turkey, South Korea, and Ukraine.

The new entity will be spearheaded by three CEOs: Kevin Vaz will lead the entertainment organization across platforms, Kiran Mani will be responsible for the combined digital unit, and Sanjog Gupta will oversee the operations of combined sports.

Additionally, RIL has bought out Paramount Global’s (NASDAQ:PARA) entire stake of 13.01% in Viacom18 for over half a billion dollars. As a result, Reliance’s stake in Viacom18 now stands at 70.49%.