CCI Approved Viacom18 And Star India Merger

The Competition Commission of India has approved the merger of Viacom18 and Star India. The Watchdog took three months to arrive at the decision that will create India’s largest media and entertainment entity. Viacom18 is promoted by Reliance Industries Limited, while Star India is backed by Walt Disney. The CCI has said that the approval is subject to compliance with voluntary modifications to the merger scheme that will be separately detailed later. The modifications are likely to include the decisions to shut a few channels and create single platforms to allay monopoly concerns. The companies had also proposed to freeze the ad rates for two years on cricket rights.

Experts believe that the biggest hurdle has been crossed with this approval, as NCLT has posted the merger scheme for final hearing. The merged entity will be controlled by RIL with a 56% stake, 37% will be owned by Disney, and 7% by Bodhi Tree Systems.