Ahead of the merger of the India business of Walt Disney into Viacom18, Reliance Foundation chairperson Nita Ambani and Reliance Jio Infocomm chairman Akash Ambani are reportedly among key additions to the board of the Indian media giant.
Viacom18 is the holding company that owns the media and entertainment business of billionaire Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries and Bodhi Tree Systems. Besides the Ambanis, other additions to the reconstituted company board include James Murdoch, co-promoter of Bodhi Tree Systems and Mohammed Ahmed Al-Hardan, head of technology, media, and telecom at the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), a key investor in Bodhi Tree, PTI reports. In addition, Jyoti Deshpande, president of media and content business at RIL, and Shuva Mandal, partner at Anagram Partners, have also been appointed to the Viacom 18 board.
The appointments came after the merger of Disney Star with Viacom18 secured regulatory clearances from the Competition Commission of India (CCI) and the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT).
Both sides are reportedly in the final stages of the merger, making some adjustments in the business as per CCI directives.
The merger will create a Rs 70,000 crore ($8.34 billion) media behemoth.
Per reports, under the merger deal, RIL and its affiliates will hold 63.16%, while Walt Disney will hold the remaining 36.84% in the combined entity that will house two streaming services and 120 television channels.
