Disney-Reliance $8.5 Billion Media Merger Closes, Creating Indian Entertainment Powerhouse
variety.comNaman Ramachandran India‘s entertainment landscape shifted Thursday as Reliance Industries and Disney completed their long-awaited media merger, creating an Indian powerhouse valued at $8.5 billion.
The deal combines Disney’s Star India with Reliance’s Viacom18 and streaming platforms JioCinema and Hotstar. Nita M. Ambani will chair the joint venture, with media veteran Uday Shankar serving as vice chair.
The merger received regulatory approvals from multiple jurisdictions, including India’s Competition Commission. Reliance pumped $1.4 billion in growth capital into the venture, which will control over 100 TV channels and produce 30,000+ hours of annual content.
The combined entity reported revenue of approximately $3.1 billion for the fiscal year 2024. The ownership structure breaks down to Reliance Industries holding 16.34%, Viacom18 with 46.82%, and Disney maintaining 36.84%.
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