The two parties have reportedly filled Form 2, which notifies CCI about the merger and its impact on competition.
The merger between Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries Limited’s Viacom18 and Walt Disney’s Star India might face delays despite receiving approval from the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) last month.
The delay is because the Competition Commission of India (CCI) wants to study the merger closely to see how it will affect market competition. Both companies have submitted a form called Form 2, which is used to notify the CCI about big mergers that could impact competition.
On February 28, 2024, Star India signed an agreement with Reliance Industries Limited and Viacom18 Media Private Limited, which is mainly controlled by Reliance.
They plan to create a new joint company by merging their businesses. This new company will include entertainment and sports TV channels, both paid and free, online streaming services, a content library, and some production companies.
The new company is valued at ₹70,352 crore (US$ 8.5 billion) after the investment, without considering potential savings from the merger.
Once everything is finalized, Reliance will control the new company, owning 16.34% of it. Viacom18 will own 46.82%, and Disney will own 36.84%.
Disney might also add more media assets to the new company if regulators and other parties agree.
Source: Business Standard, M9News
