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Nita Ambani To Head The Merger Of Reliance And Disney Ahead Of IPL 2024

Reliance & DisneyReliance & Disney

Reliance Industries Ltd. have recently entered into a new binding agreement as they have entered into a new association with Walt Disney and Co. The entertainment giant has agreed to merge with the multimedia industry giant, as Reliance takes over the operations of the company in India.

Reliance Industries Ltd., Walt Disney and Co. and Viacom18 have announced a joint venture that will combine the businesses of Viacom18 and Star India. The media industry of Viacom18 has taken over Star India Private Limited in the transaction, as approved by the court.

Additionally, Reliance Industries Ltd. have also agreed to invest a sum of 11,500 crore (~US$ 1.4 billion) in the joint venture as a part of their growth strategy for the financial year 2024-25. The joint venture currently stands at a valuation of at Rs 70,352 crore (~US$ 8.5 billion), excluding the synergies from the multimedia giants.


JioCinema takes over Hotstar; the former to take over the broadcasting rights of IPL 2024

With the merger, JioCinema is expected to broadcast the upcoming 17th season of Indian Premier league League, after a successful broadcast of IPL 2023.  JioCinema is expected to gain a massive reach and millions of new subscribers.

The companies released a Joint Statement while announcing the merger, the statement read,

“Reliance Industries Limited ("RIL"), Viacom 18 Media Private Limited ("Viacom18") and The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) ("Disney") today announced the signing of binding definitive agreements to form a joint venture ("JV") that will combine the businesses of Viacom18 and Star India. As part of the transaction, the media undertaking of Viacom18 will be merged into Star India Private Limited ("SIPL") through a court-approved scheme of arrangement. In addition, RIL has agreed to invest at closing ₹11,500 crore (-USS 1.4 billion) into the JV for its growth strategy.”

The joint venture is expected to become the greatest digital streaming platform in India after bringing entertainment and sports channels like Colors, StarPlus, StarGOLD, Star Sports and Sports18 under one managerial roof.

The statement further read,

“The JV will be one of the leading TV and digital streaming platforms for entertainment and sports content in India, bringing together iconic media assets across entertainment (e.g. Colors, StarPlus, StarGOLD) and sports (e.g. Star Sports and Sports18) including access to highly anticipated events across television and digital platforms through JioCinema and Hotstar. The JV will have over 750 million viewers across India and will also cater to the Indian diaspora across the world.”

The joint venture will be led by the popular face of Reliance, Nita Ambani as the chairperson in the share wealth owned in 16.34% by Reliance Industries Ltd., 46.82% by Viacom18 and 36.84% by Disney.