Industry sources said the boards of Viacom18 have agreed to bring in two new faces ahead of its merger with the India business of global media giant Walt Disney. Those on board are chairperson of Reliance Foundation Nita Ambani and chairman of Reliance Jio Infocomm Akash Ambani, industry sources added.
Viacom18 is the holding company that owns the media and entertainment business of billionaire Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries and Bodhi Tree Systems.
Appointments after CCI and NCLT clearance
The appointments have come at a time when Star India, owned by Walt Disney and Viacom 18, has cleared the regulatory clearances from the fair trade regulator CCI and the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT).
The regulations of the Competition Commission of India have made both the sides reach the last leg of the merger process and are making some adjustment in the business according to the directions.
Other directors on the board of Viacom 18 are James Murdoch, a co-promoter of Bodhi Tree Systems, and Mohammed Ahmed Al-Hardan, head of technology, media and telecom, at the Qatar Investment Authority, a significant investor in Bodhi Tree, who would join the board after its reconstitution.
New addition
The two other new members on the board of Viacom 18 are Jyoti Deshpande, president-media and content business at RIL, and Shuva Mandal, partner at Anagram Partners.
Earlier on August 30, NCLT had approved the scheme of merger of Viacom18 Media and Digital 18 Media holding media and entertainment assets of Reliance Industries with Star India.
The scheme also covered the transfer and vesting of Media Operations Undertaking from Viacom 18 and Jio Cinema into Digital18, which is a subsidiary of Viacom 18. Following it would be the "demerger, transfer, and vesting of V18 Undertaking from Digital 18 into Star India."
Merger is will create Rs 70,000 crore company
It will turn out to be the largest media empire of the country, with assets over Rs 70,000 crore, as Reliance Industries and The Walt Disney Co have sealed the deal on merging their media assets.
Earlier, the CCI had said it had cleared the "proposed combination involving Reliance Industries Ltd, Viacom 18 Media Pvt Ltd, Digital 18 Media Ltd, Star India Pvt Ltd and Star Television Productions Ltd, subject to the compliance of voluntary modifications".
Viacom18 is a group company of RIL, and the rest SIPL is wholly owned by The Walt Disney Company. STPL is an indirect group company of Walt Disney, incorporated in the British Virgin Islands.
CCI didn't share original deal
The CCI, however, did not share the voluntary modifications done in the original deal between both parties.
The Mukesh Ambani-led RIL and its firms will hold 63.16 percent of the combined entity that will home two streaming services and 120 television channels.
Walt Disney will hold the remaining 36.84 percent stake in the combined entity, which will also become the largest Indian media house.
Rs 11,500 crore investment
Reliance Industries has also committed to infusing almost Rs 11,500 crore into the venture to arm it for a fight with the likes of Japanese electronics giant Sony and American streaming service Netflix.
Nita Ambani, wife of billionaire Mukesh Ambani, who chairs Reliance Industries, will head the joint venture and Uday Shankar will be the vice-chairperson.
