Reliance, Disney, and Viacom18 Finalize ₹70,352-Crore Media Merger, Nita Ambani Appointed Chair

New Delhi: Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) has successfully completed its joint venture (JV) with Walt Disney Company. merger of media and JioCinema businesses of Viacom18 into Star India Private Limited (SIPL) was approved by regulatory authorities, including National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) Mumbai and Competition Commission of India. Following merger, Nita M. Ambani has been appointed as Chairperson, and Uday Shankar will serve as Vice Chairperson of JV.

As part of deal, RIL has invested Rs 11,500 crore into JV, marking a major step toward growth. transaction values JV at ₹70,352 crore (~US$ 8.5 billion), excluding synergies. Upon completion, RIL controls 16.34% of JV, Viacom18 owns 46.82%, and Disney holds 36.84%.

newly-formed media conglomerate is expected to generate combined revenues of around Rs 26,000 crore, with a strong presence in both television, merging Star and Colors, and digital platforms, combining JioCinema and Hotstar.

ditionally, RIL has acquired Paramount Global’s 13.01% stake in Viacom18 for Rs 4,286 crore. JV will be led by three CEOs: Kevin Vaz for entertainment, Kiran Mani for digital business, and Sanjog Gupta for combined sports division.

“With formation of this JV, Indian media and entertainment industry is entering a transformational era," Mukesh Ambani, chairman & managing director of RIL, said in a statement.

"Our deep creative expertise and relationship with Disney, along with our unmatched understanding of Indian consumer will ensure unparalleled content choices at affordable prices for Indian viewers. I am very excited about JV’s future and wish it all success,” he ded.

Robert Iger, CEO, Walt Disney Company, “This is an exciting moment for our two companies, as well as for India’s consumers, as we create one of top entertainment entities in country through this joint venture.”