According to a Bloomberg report, Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) and Walt Disney Co. have inked a legally binding agreement to combine their media operations in India, marking a significant milestone in the entertainment sector.

According to the agreement, Disney will hold the remaining shares of the combined company, with the Reliance media unit and its affiliates expected to own at least 61% of it. At a $3.9 billion (Rs 33,000 crore) valuation, Disney reportedly consented to sell Viacom 18 61% of its India business.

Mukesh Ambani, the chairman of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), owns Viacom18.
There were rumours earlier this month that Disney had agreed to sell Viacom18 60% of its Indian operations. It is anticipated that the deal will have a significant impact on India’s media and entertainment sector.

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Sony of Japan and Zee Entertainment withdrew their merger proposal last month because of differences over who would lead the combined media company. In response to criticism from activist shareholder Nelson Peltz regarding inadequate succession planning, Disney recently named two new directors in late November: Sir Jeremy Darroch, the former group chief executive of Sky, and James Gormon, the CEO of Morgan Stanley.

While the company was “considering options,” Walt Disney CEO Iger stated during a November earnings call that the company would prefer to remain in India to “strengthen our hand, improve the bottom line.” Disney has now entered India three times. KK Modi’s Group formed an alliance with them for the first time in 1993. When Ronnie Screwvala’s UTV went awry, it also bought into it.

The loss of the online rights to stream the highly anticipated IPL tournament from 2023 to 2027, coupled with Disney’s successful acquisition of broadcast TV rights, caused investor enthusiasm for the company’s India business to wane in 2022.