Reliance to Acquire 13.01% Stake in Viacom18 from US-Based Paramount Global

On March 14, 2024, Reliance Industries Limited informed the exchange in a filing that it had entered into a binding agreement with two subsidiary companies of Paramount Global for the acquisition of a 13.01% equity stake (on a fully diluted basis) of Viacom 18 Media Private Limited for a consideration of ₹4,286 crore. The stake was held by Paramount Global through its two subsidiaries.

Viacom18 is a material subsidiary of TV18 Broadcast Limited. Reliance currently holds Compulsorily Convertible Preference Shares of Viacom18, reflecting a 57.48% equity stake (on a fully diluted basis). The company’s equity stake in Viacom18 will increase to 70.49% (on a fully diluted basis) after the completion of this transaction. This transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and completion of the joint venture of Reliance and Disney, which was announced on February 28, 2024.

On March 14, 2024, the share price of Reliance Industries opened at ₹2,865.00 and at 10:00 AM touched a day high of ₹2,897.35. On the same day, the shares of Network18 Media & Investments Ltd opened at ₹83.00 and reached a day high of ₹85.00. Network18 Media & Investments Ltd delivered a return of ~54.84% in the past one year.

Paramount was informed through a US regulatory filing that it would continue licensing its content to Viacom18 even after the deal was finalised. Paramount has already streamed its content through Reliance’s JioCinema.

During Q3 FY2024, Network18 Media & Investments Ltd announced a Scheme of arrangement for the merger of TV18 and e-Eighteen.com (Moneycontrol) with Network18 to simplify the holding

structure and create India’s largest platform-agnostic news media conglomerate. The TV News network maintained strong market positions across genres and continued to deliver industry-leading revenue growth.

In addition, Viacom18’s Colors closed the year 2023 with 200+ GRPs, recording a growth of over 60% in ratings since the beginning of the fiscal; Network share increased by 30 bps QoQ to 10.8%.

About Network 18 Media & Investments Ltd

Network 18 Media & Investments is involved in activities spanning Digital Content, Print and Allied Businesses. The company’s business segments include Broadcasting, Television (Viacom 18), and Digital.

About Reliance Industries Ltd

Reliance Industries Ltd was founded by Dhirubhai Ambani and is now promoted and managed by Mukesh Ambani. The company operates in diversified businesses such as Oil-to-Chemicals, retail segment, digital services business, media & entertainment business, etc.

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