Joint Venture ready to lead the
transformation of India’s digital streaming eco-system and grow the
linear TV space across entertainment and sports
Reliance has invested ₹ 11,500 crore growth
capital in the Joint Venture
Reliance to operate and consolidate the
Joint Venture
Mrs. Nita M. Ambani to be the
Chairperson
Reliance Industries Limited (“RIL”), Viacom 18 Media Private
Limited (“Viacom18”) and The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) (
“Disney”) today announced that following the approval by the
Hon’ble 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 (the “JV”). In addition, RIL has invested ₹ 11,500
crore (~US$ 1.4 billion) into the JV for its growth. The JV has
allotted shares to Viacom18 and RIL as consideration for the assets
and cash, respectively.
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.
Mrs. Nita M. Ambani will be the Chairperson of the JV, with Mr.
Uday Shankar as Vice Chairperson providing strategic guidance to
the JV.
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 formation of the JV will herald a new era in India’s
entertainment industry for consumers. This unique joint venture of
Reliance and Disney brings together the companies’ content creation
and curation prowess, world-class digital streaming capabilities
along with a digital first approach that will help the JV deliver
unparalleled content choices at affordable prices to Indian viewers
and the Indian diaspora globally.
The JV will be one of the largest Media & Entertainment
companies in India with pro forma combined revenue of approximately
₹ 26,000 crore (~US$ 3.1 billion) for the fiscal year ended in
March 2024. The JV operates over 100 TV channels and produces
30,000+ hours of TV entertainment content annually. The JioCinema
and Hotstar digital platforms have an aggregate subscription base
of over 50 million. The JV holds a portfolio of sports rights
across cricket, football and other sports.
The Competition Commission of India (“CCI”) approved the
transaction on 27 August 2024, subject to the compliance with
certain voluntary modifications offered by the parties. Apart from
the CCI, the transaction has been approved by anti-trust
authorities in the EU, China, Turkey, South Korea and Ukraine.
Speaking about the JV, Mr. Mukesh D Ambani, Chairman &
Managing Director of Reliance Industries Limited, said, “With
the formation of this JV, the Indian media and entertainment
industry is entering a transformational era. Our deep creative
expertise and relationship with Disney, along with our unmatched
understanding of the Indian consumer will ensure unparalleled
content choices at affordable prices for Indian viewers. I am very
excited about the JV’s future and wish it all the success.”
“This is an exciting moment for our two companies, as well as
for India’s consumers, as we create one of the top entertainment
entities in the country through this joint venture,” said Mr.
Robert A. Iger, Chief Executive Officer, The Walt Disney
Company. “By joining forces with Reliance, we are able to
expand our presence in this important media market and deliver
viewers an even more robust portfolio of entertainment, sports
content, and digital services.”
Mr. Uday Shankar, Co-Founder of Bodhi Tree Systems, said,
“James and I are excited to be partners in this journey to disrupt
the media and entertainment industry in India. The new organisation
is committed to deliver an unprecedented level of creativity,
disruption and new age consumer experience. As media consumption
continues to move to an integrated TV-digital ecosystem, the merger
of Viacom18 and Star India offers a unique opportunity to reorient
the industry to better serve diverse cohorts of consumers across
the country. Together, we aim to build India’s largest integrated
media platform which will deliver unparalleled experiences in
innovative and exciting ways.”
The JV will be spearheaded by three CEOs who will lead the
company into a new era of ambition and disruption. Kevin Vaz will
head the entertainment organisation across platforms. Kiran Mani
will take charge of the combined digital organization. Sanjog Gupta
will lead the combined sports organisation. Together, they will
leverage their unique strengths to cultivate a bold, transformative
vision that challenges the status quo and sets new standards in the
industry.
In a separate transaction, RIL has bought out Paramount Global’s
entire stake of 13.01% in Viacom18 for ₹ 4,286 crore. As a result,
Viacom18 is owned 70.49% by RIL, 13.54% by Network18 Media &
Investments Ltd. and 15.97% by Bodhi Tree Systems, on a
fully-diluted basis.
About Reliance Industries Limited
Reliance is India’s largest private sector company, with a
consolidated revenue of INR 10,00,122 crore (US$ 119.9 billion),
cash profit of INR 1,41,969 crore (US$ 17.0 billion) and net profit
of INR 79,020 crore (US$ 9.5 billion) for the year ended March 31,
2024. Reliance’s activities span hydrocarbon exploration and
production, petroleum refining and marketing, petrochemicals,
advanced materials and composites, renewables (solar and hydrogen),
retail and digital services.
Currently ranked 86th, Reliance is the largest private sector
company from India to be featured in Fortune’s Global 500 list of
'World’s Largest Companies' for 2024. The company stands 45th in
the Forbes Global 2000 rankings of 'World’s Largest Public
Companies' for 2023, the highest among Indian companies. Reliance
has been recognized in Time's list of the 100 Most Influential
Companies of 2024, marking the only Indian company to have achieved
this honor twice. Reliance is the top-ranked Indian company and the
only one in the top 100 on Forbes' 'World's Best Employers' 2023
list. Additionally, it is featured among LinkedIn’s 'Top Companies
2023: The 25 Best Workplaces To Grow Your Career In India.'
Website: www.ril.com
About The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company, together with its subsidiaries, is a
leading diversified international family entertainment and media
enterprise that includes three business segments: Entertainment,
Sports and Experiences. Disney is a Dow 30 company and had annual
revenue of $88.9 billion in its Fiscal Year 2023.
About Bodhi Tree Systems
Bodhi Tree Systems is a strategic investor in consumer
technology opportunities in Southeast Asia, with a particular focus
on India. The entity is a platform of James Murdoch's Lupa Systems
and Uday Shankar and was established in 2021 to explore and invest
in Southeast Asia and the Middle East. In addition to media and
education, Bodhi Tree expects to invest in other consumer
technology sectors such as healthcare that represent significant
opportunities but suffer from a lack of capital and innovation.
Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), the sovereign wealth fund of the
State of Qatar, is an investor in Bodhi Tree Systems.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS – THE WALT DISNEY COMPANY
The terms “Company,” “we,” and “our” are used below to refer
collectively to The Walt Disney Company and the subsidiaries
through which its various businesses are actually conducted.
Certain statements and information in this communication may
constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including
statements regarding expectations, beliefs, plans, strategies,
business or financial prospects or outlook, trends, future growth
opportunities and drivers; expected benefits of the joint venture,
including future products and service offerings and consumer
sentiment, priorities and demand; and other statements that are not
historical in nature. These statements are made on the basis of the
Company’s views and assumptions regarding future events and
business performance and plans as of the time the statements are
made. The Company does not undertake any obligation to update these
statements unless required by applicable laws or regulations, and
you should not place undue reliance on forward-looking
statements.
Actual results may differ materially from those expressed or
implied. Such differences may result from actions taken by the
Company, including restructuring or strategic initiatives or other
business decisions, as well as from developments beyond the
Company’s control, including: the occurrence of subsequent events;
deterioration in domestic or global economic conditions or failure
of conditions to improve as anticipated; deterioration in or
pressures from competitive conditions, including competition to
create or acquire content; competition for talent and competition
for advertising revenue; consumer preferences and acceptance of our
content, offerings, pricing model and price increases, and
corresponding subscriber additions and churn, and the market for
advertising sales on our direct-to-consumer services and linear
networks; health concerns and their impact on our businesses and
productions; international, political or military developments;
regulatory and legal developments, technological developments;
labor markets and activities, including work stoppages; adverse
weather conditions or natural disasters; and availability of
content.
Additional factors are set forth in the Company’s most recent
Annual Report on Form 10-K, including under the captions “Risk
Factors,” “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial
Condition and Results of Operations,” and “Business,” quarterly
reports on Form 10-Q, including under the captions “Risk Factors”
and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition
and Results of Operations,” and subsequent filings with the
Securities and Exchange Commission.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241114123211/en/
Reliance Industries Limited Tushar Pania Corporate
Communications tushar.pania@ril.com
The Walt Disney Company George Cherian Corporate
Communications Disney India & Star India
George.Cherian@disney.com
David Jefferson Corporate Communications
David.J.Jefferson@disney.com
Kelvin Liu Corporate Communications Kelvin.Liu@disney.com
Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS)
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