NAME: Reliance Industries’ $8.5 billion joint venture with Disney
LAW FIRM: AZB & Partners, JSA, Khaitan & Co, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, Covington & Burling, Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom
JURISDICTION: India
PRACTICE AREAS: Corporate and M&A
INDUSTRY SECTORS: Media and entertainment
Reliance Industries’ $8.5 billion joint venture with Disney is our deal of the month for February.
Reliance Industries, India’s largest conglomerate, has announced a merger between its media subsidiary Viacom18 and Walt Disney’s Star India. The transaction is expected to complete in either the last quarter of 2024 or the first quarter of 2025 and will have an estimated value of $8.5 billion, with Reliance owning 63% stake in the new entity.
This joint venture brings together two of India’s biggest media brands, with Nita Ambani serving as Chairperson and Uday Shankar as Vice Chairperson. The new entity will control over 120 television channels and two streaming platforms, with an estimated reach of 750 million viewers. Notably, the entity will also have exclusive rights to several key sporting events, including a monopoly on Indian cricket across all platforms, and will compete with major players such as Amazon Prime Video and Netflix.
Given its strong market position, the merger faces potential antitrust and regulatory scrutiny and will have to be cleared by the Competition Commission of India. The involvement of established entities may help address these concerns.
Khaitan & Co represented Reliance Industries with a transaction team led by M&A practice head Haigreve Khaitan and including partners Deepak Jodhani, Kartick Maheshwari, Mehul Shah, and Tanu Banerjee. Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co acted for Reliance Industries and Viacom18, with a team led by managing partner Pallavi Shroff. JSA represented Paramount Global, an existing joint venture partner in Viacom18, with a team led by partners Lalit Kumar and Bharati Joshi. AZB & Partners, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, and Covington & Burling represented Star India in the transaction.
