Disney and Reliance are working on terms of the India media operations merger (ET). The most valuable companies in India, Reliance Industries (RELI.NS), and Walt Disney Corporation (DIS.N), are reportedly working to finalize the details of a non-binding term sheet to integrate their respective media companies in India, according to a story in the Economic Times on Tuesday.
According to the report, a newly formed entity of Reliance’s Viacom18 will absorb Disney’s Star India through a share swap arrangement. This will happen under the present terms of the agreement, which are expected to be disclosed in January.
Reliance, which Mukesh Ambani runs, is expected to pay cash for a 51% ownership stake in the prospective Viacom18 company, while Disney will control 49% of the stock, according to ET. According to the newspaper, it is anticipated that the unit’s board of directors would have equal participation from both parties.
Reuters’ requests for comment received no immediate response from either Disney or Reliance.
According to a report that Bloomberg published in October, Reliance, whose broadcast venture Viacom18 is responsible for running JioCinema, is pricing Disney’s India assets at between $7 billion and $8 billion. These assets include the Disney+ Hotstar streaming service as well as Star India. At that time, Disney estimated that the operations were worth ten billion dollars.
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