Reliance and Disney initiate antitrust examination for media merger in India: Report

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Go First establishes company with former employees to liaison with lessors amid resolution process The appointments are the latest sign of progress as Reliance and Disney, which each have a major streaming service as well as 120 television channels between them, look at merging into an entity to create an entertainment superpower in the world's most populous nation. Ambani's group is expected to have a majority stake in the entity. A fifth source said senior Disney executives from Burbank headquarters and top Reliance officials from Mumbai travelled to London in late December and signed a non-binding term sheet on the deal.

Disney declined to comment and Reliance did not respond to Reuters queries. Khaitan and Shardul also declined to comment, while AZB did not immediately respond to Reuters queries. Any possible merger between Reliance and Disney is likely to face antitrust challenges and could draw intense scrutiny, with assets such as TV channels likely to be shed to assuage concerns of their combined market power, Reuters has reported.

Also read: Meesho resumes campus hiring, recruits 150 candidates in 2023 Three of the sources familiar with the Reliance-Disney merger due diligence said the work for antitrust review was in initial stages. If a deal was struck between Reliance and Disney, it would be the second to reshape India's TV and streaming landscape as Japan's Sony (6758.T) also plans to merge its India business with India's Zee Entertainment (ZEE.NS). Disney's India business has been struggling, with Ambani locked in fierce battle with the U.S.