Reliance To Acquire 13% Stake In Viacom18 From Paramount For $517 Mln

Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL) agreed to acquire a 13.01% stake in Viacom 18 Media Private Ltd. (Viacom18) from Paramount Global for 4,286 crore rupees ($517 million).

The company signed a binding agreement today with two subsidiaries of Paramount Global to acquire the stake in Viacom18, the Indian oil-to-telecom conglomerate said in a stock exchange announcement.

Viacom18 is a material subsidiary of RIL-owned TV18 Broadcast Ltd.

RIL said it currently holds compulsorily convertible preference shares of Viacom18, representing 57.48% stake, in the company, on a fully diluted basis. Post the completion of the transaction, the conglomerate’s stake in Viacom18 will increase to 70.49%, it added.

Paramount Global will continue to license its content to Viacom18 after completion of the transaction, according to the statement.

The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and the completion of recently announced RIL-Walt Disney deal.

Last month, RIL and US-listed Walt Disney agreed to merge their digital streaming and television assets in India to form a media giant valued at $8.50 billion.

Note: $1 = 82.8466 Indian rupees

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