Nita and Akash Ambani Join Viacom18 Board Ahead of Firm's merger with Disney's Star India

Viacom18, which is owned by Reliance Industries (RIL) and Bodhi Tree Systems, has welcomed Nita Ambani, the chairperson of the Reliance Foundation, and Akash Ambani, the chairman of Reliance Jio Infocomm, to the board, according to persons familiar with the situation.

The choices are made as Viacom18 approaches the last phases of its merger with Star India, a division of Walt Disney. An important first step toward the combination of these two massive media companies is the reorganization of the board.

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 major investor in Bodhi Tree, are joining the Ambanis on the Viacom18 board, according to the people who also said that Al-Hardan has joined the board as a Bodhi Tree representative. Shuva Mandal, a partner at Anagram Partners, and Jyoti Deshpande, president of RIL's media and content unit, have both joined the board.

Adil Zainulbhai, Uday Shankar, Madhusudana Sivaprasad Panda, Rahul Joshi, Alexander J. Berkett, and Priyanka Chaudhary were the six directors of Viacom18 as of March 31. Given that Paramount Global sold RIL its 13% share of Viacom18 for Rs 4,286 crore, Berkett is probably going to depart the board. Atul Agarwal, Rishi Kanwarjeet Gaind, Gaurav Banerjee, and Gurjeev Singh Kapoor were the four directors of Star India. Since then, Banerjee has become the MD and CEO of Sony Pictures Networks India.

Following the merger, members from Viacom18 and Star will be nominated to a new board. According to the sources, RIL is anticipated to propose six members, Walt Disney three, and Bodhi Tree one to the combined Star-Viacom18 board, which is projected to have ten seats. According to the individuals, Viacom18 has already started the official process of transferring its TV channel licenses to Star India by submitting an application to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB). Approval is anticipated shortly.

Viacom18 will first transfer its assets to its wholly-owned subsidiary, Digital18, which will subsequently transfer them to Star India in exchange for shares in the latter, essentially combining the operations of both businesses under a single structure, in accordance with the merger scheme approved by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT). Nita Ambani will become the new entity's chairperson as part of the post-merger structure, and Uday Shankar, a seasoned media executive and co-promoter of Bodhi Tree Systems, would become vice-chairperson.

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has already granted conditional clearance for this merger, which is anticipated to significantly alter the Indian media landscape, provided certain conditions are met. But the combination won't fully take effect until the boards of Viacom18 and Star India have decided on an official start date.

An $8.5 billion media conglomerate with a significant online and TV presence will be formed by the deal. Cost and revenue synergies in the areas of content, labor, technology, and monetization are anticipated. Prior to the merger, Media Partners Asia estimated that the Star-Viacom18 combination would bring in $2.8 billion in revenue and result in a $200 million pro forma Ebitda deficit in FY24. The combined company will feature a successful entertainment division along with a losing sports and streaming division.