The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has scheduled the final hearing for the merger between Disney’s Star India and Reliance’s Viacom18 on August 1. This decision will determine whether to approve the merger plan.
In a recent order, the NCLT requested that a fresh notice be sent to central and state governments, tax authorities, and regulatory bodies like the Competition Commission of India (CCI) and the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. These notices must state that if there are no responses within 30 days, it will be assumed there are no objections to the merger.
Legal expert Himanshu Vidhani explained that the merger plan has two parts: transferring some of Viacom’s TV assets to Digital18, followed by demerging these assets from Digital18 to Star. The NCLT will decide on August 1 whether to approve this plan.
If approved, the merger will need CCI clearance. This merger is under review by the CCI due to its potential impact on the TV and streaming industries.
On May 7, the NCLT initially admitted the merger plan, marking the first step in this major transaction. The merger plan has been approved by creditors and shareholders of the involved companies.
As part of the merger, Digital18 will transfer Viacom18’s assets to Star India, which will issue shares to Digital18 and Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) for a $1.4 billion investment. The new shareholding structure will be Walt Disney (36.63%), Digital18 (46.11%), and RIL (16.34%).
The merger will create India’s largest media and entertainment business, valued at $8.5 billion, with combined revenues of Rs 25,000 crore for FY23.
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