Reliance to buy Paramount’s 13% in Viacom18 for $517 million

Reliance Industries Ltd on Thursday said it  has entered into a binding agreement to purchase Paramount Global’s 13.01% stake in Viacom18 Media Pvt. Ltd for ₹4,286 crore, or about $517 million.

Paramount Global held its stake in Viacom18 Media, an arm of TV18 Broadcast Ltd, through two subsidiaries. TV18 Broadcast is a subsidiary of the Network18 Group that has interests spanning television, digital content, films, e-commerce and print businesses.

The closing of the deal is subject to the satisfaction of certain customary conditions, including receipt of applicable regulatory approvals, as well as the completion of a previously announced joint venture involving Reliance, Viacom18 and Star Disney, Paramount Global informed the US stock exchange regulator.

After the closure of the deal, Paramount will continue to license its content to Viacom18, it added. The US company streams its content on Reliance’s Jio Cinema.

Viacom18 runs 40 channels and is majority owned by Reliance.

Reliance had last month signed a binding agreement with Walt Disney Co. to combine the businesses of Viacom18 and Star India to create a $8.5 billion media giant.