Reliance, Viacom and Disney came under one umbrella!
A rare incident has occurred in the history of Indian media. Popular channels like Colors, Star Plus have come under one umbrella; Reliance Industries Ltd, Viacom 18 Media Pvt Ltd and The Walt Disney Company announced a joint venture on Wednesday. As a result, the business of Viacom 18 and Star India came under one umbrella
Through a court-approved deal, Viacom's 18 subsidiary media businesses have merged with Star India Pvt. Ltd.
Reliance India Limited has decided to invest 11 thousand 500 crores rupees in the expansion of the business of this joint venture company. Reliance will have control over the joint venture after the completion of the contract process. The market value of which is about 70 thousand 352 crores rupees! Reliance Industries Limited will hold 16.34 percent stake in the joint venture, Viacom 18 will hold 46.82 percent and Disney will hold 36.84 percent.
Subject to all future approvals, Disney may bring portions of certain other media assets it holds under this joint venture. Nita M Ambani will be the chairperson of this joint venture, Uday Shankar will be the Vice Chairperson.
This deal is, in a word, unprecedented in the history of Indian media business. As a result channels like Colors, Star Plus, Star Gold, Star Sports, Sports 18 came under one umbrella. The same can be said for popular apps like Hot Star and Jio Cinema.
