VIACOM18 MEDIA PRIVATE LIMITED ANNOUNCES COMPLETION OF THE TRANSACTION FOR STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP WITH RELIANCE INDUSTRIES LIMITED, BODHI TREE SYSTEMS & PARAMOUNT GLOBAL

• Viacom18 ready to lead transformation of India’s digital streaming eco-system with the JioCinema app under its fold & cash of Rs. 15,145 crore

• JioCinema app has already set new benchmarks of digital viewership with IPL streaming

• Strategic partnership with Reliance, Bodhi Tree Systems and Paramount Global committed to innovation & disruption in the media & entertainment sector in India

• Viacom18 will continue to be a controlled subsidiary of TV18

Viacom18 today announced that following the sanction by NCLT Mumbai, the Scheme of merger of Reliance Storage Limited with itself has become effective & Viacom18 has allotted shares to Bodhi Tree Systems & RIL group entities as consideration for the Scheme of merger. Upon consummation of this merger, (i) the integration of JioCinema into Viacom18 has been completed; & (ii) Viacom18 has access to Rs. 15,145 crore of cash for its planned growth, comprising Rs. 10,839 crore contributed by RIL group entities & Rs. 4,306 crore contributed by Bodhi Tree Systems. Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), the sovereign wealth fund of the State of Qatar, is an investor in Bodhi Tree Systems.

As a consequence of the closing of the transactions noted above, the shareholding of Viacom18 will be:

(a) Equity:

TV18 – 50.994%;

Paramount Global – 48.994%; Bodhi Tree – 0.011%

(b) CCPS:

RIL group entities – 82.2%;

Bodhi Tree – 17.8%

(c) Fully diluted basis:

RIL group entities – 60.37%;

TV18 – 13.54%;

Bodhi Tree – 13.08%;

Paramount Global – 13.01%

The partnership will enable Viacom 18 to innovate & disrupt the M&E sector, with Uday Shankar & James Murdoch providing strategic & operational guidance to Viacom 18, leveraging their track-record of building iconic media businesses. Uday Shankar has been appointed to the Board of Viacom18. Paramount Global will continue as a shareholder and supply Viacom18 its premium global content. This unique partnership brings together India’s biggest conglomerate, two of the most recognized media industry veterans & a leading global media and entertainment company.

Viacom 18’s digital-focused strategy is already paying rich dividends with IPL’s first weekend viewership on JioCinema crossing the digital viewership recorded in the entire season last year. The platform set several new records with 2.5 crore+ app downloads in a single day, 147 crore video views on the opening weekend & a peak concurrency of 1.6 crore for the first match. This strong viewership was driven by JioCinema’s extensive fan-centric unique features like 4K feed, 12-language coverage, 16 unique feeds, hype mode, & multi-cam setup, among others.

Categorised in: Industry News, Member News

This post was written by Viacom18