Reliance Industries and Walt Disney merger approved by Competition Commission of India
Competition Commission of India (CCI) has approved the merger between Reliance Industries-promoted Viacom18 and Walt Disney-owned Star India three months after they filed for it, paving the way for the creation of the country’s largest media and entertainment firm.
The watchdog on Wednesday said the approval is subject to compliance with voluntary modifications to the merger scheme. A CCI order detailing these modifications will be released soon.
ET was the first to report on August 2 that the two conglomerates are confident of closing the merger deal by October.
The voluntary modifications may set the stage for ongoing oversight to ensure the new entity does not engage in monopolistic practices, particularly in sports broadcasting and content licensing, said Nilesh Tribhuvann, managing partner, White & Brief Advocates & Solicitors.
With CCI approval in place and the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) posting the merger scheme for final hearing, integration between the two companies will begin soon.
Elara Capital senior vice-president Karan Taurani said the competition regulator’s approval is the biggest hurdle to be crossed in such large deals. “With the CCI approval in place, others (from) NCLT, ministry of information & broadcasting, etc, will not be that time-consuming,” he said.
RIL will control the merged entity, with a 56% stake. Disney will own 37% of the combined firm, while Bodhi Tree Systems will have the remaining 7% stake.
The merged entity will have a valuation of `70,352 crore and a dominant
