Reliance Industries Receives Nod From CCI For Viacom18-Star India Merger

The Competition Commission of India on Wednesday approved Reliance Industries Ltd.'s $8.5 billion merger of Viacom18 Media Pvt., Digital18 Media Ltd., Star India Pvt. and Star Television Productions Ltd. Post the merger, Star India will become a joint venture, held by Reliance Industries, Viacom18 and existing TWDC subsidiaries.

The CCI made the announcement on social media platform X.

The proposed transaction will not cause any appreciable adverse effect on competition in India, Reliance had said in the notice in May.

Reliance and its affiliates will hold a 63.16% stake in the combined entity, while Disney will have the remaining 36.84% shareholding. Reliance has also agreed to invest around Rs 11,500 crore into the joint venture to grow the OTT business.

In February this year, global media giant Walt Disney Co. and Reliance Industries Ltd. announced the signing of binding pacts to merge their media operations in India to create a Rs 70,000 crore behemoth.

Nita Ambani, wife of Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani, will chair the joint venture, while Uday Shankar will be the vice chairperson.