New Delhi : The government has approved the license to Star India for non-news and current affairs TV channels of the media unit of Reliance Industries run by industrialist Mukesh Ambani.
The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has given the approval through an order dated September 27, according to information provided to the stock exchanges by Reliance Industries and TV18 Broadcast. “The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, vide its order dated September 27, 2024, has given its approval for transfer of license relating to non-news and current affairs TV channels of Viacom18 Media Pvt. Ltd. in favor of Star India,” it said. Has given.”
subject to prescribed conditions
This will be subject to the conditions prescribed by the Competition Commission of India i.e. CCI. Viacom18 is a holding company that owns the media and entertainment businesses of Reliance Industries and Bodhi Tree Systems. Now both the parties are in the final stages of merger and are making some adjustments in their business as per the CCI directions. On August 30, the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) had approved the plan of merger of Viacom18 Media and Digital18 Media, which owns the media and entertainment assets of Reliance Industries, with Star India.
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Proposal to transfer to Digital18
The plan proposed to transfer the media operations related to Viacom18 and Jio Cinema to Digital18, the parent company of Viacom18. The merger of the media assets of Reliance Industries and The Walt Disney Company will create the country's largest media conglomerate, with a valuation of over Rs 70,000 crore. Earlier, CCI had said that it has approved the proposal of combination of Reliance Industries Limited, Viacom18 Media Private Limited, Digital18 Media Limited, Star India Private Limited i.e. SIPL and Star Television Productions Limited i.e. STPL subject to compliance with voluntary amendments.
largest media company
However, CCI did not disclose the voluntary modifications made to the original deal made by both the parties. Under the deal, Mukesh Ambani-led RIL and its partners will hold 63.16 per cent stake in the joint entity, which will have two streaming services and 120 television channels. Walt Disney will hold the remaining 36.84 percent stake in this joint unit. This will be the largest media company in the country.
Agreement on investment also
Reliance Industries has also agreed to invest around Rs 11,500 crore in a joint venture to take on rivals like Netflix and Japan's Sony. Nita Ambani, wife of RIL Chairman Mukesh Ambani, will head the joint venture, while Uday Shankar will be its vice-chairperson.
(with agency input)
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