$8.5B Disney-Reliance Merger Completed for Indian Assets

Reliance Industries and Walt Disney have finalized an $8.5 billion merger of their Indian media assets, concluded on 14th November. The merged assets have been reorganized into three distinct divisions, each led by its own CEO, marking a new era for the two media giants in India.

Finalization of the Merger

• The merger was finalized combining the Indian media assets of Reliance Industries and Walt Disney.
• Three main divisions have been created: Entertainment, Digital, and Sports.

Ownership Structure

• Reliance Industries Limited (RIL): 16.34% ownership.
• Viacom18: 46.82% ownership.
• Disney: 36.84% ownership.

Leadership

• Chairperson: Nita Ambani (Reliance Industries).
• Vice Chairperson: Uday Shankar (Disney).
• CEO of Digital Division: Kiran Mani (former Google executive, currently leads JioCinema).
• Entertainment Division: Led by Kevin Vaz (currently at Viacom18).
• Sports Division: Led by Sanjog Gupta (formerly with Disney India’s sports operations).

Key Divisions Post-Merger

• Entertainment Division
• Digital Division
• Sports Division

Strategic Implications

India’s Biggest Entertainment Entity

• The merger creates India’s largest media conglomerate with 120 TV channels and two streaming services (JioCinema and Hotstar).

Competition

• The merged entity will compete directly with other media giants like Sony, Netflix, and Amazon in both television broadcasting and streaming content.

Approval from Indian Antitrust Regulator

• The merger received approval from India’s competition regulator (CCI) in August, after addressing concerns about the dominance in cricket broadcasting rights.