Reliance, Walt Disney close $8.5 billion merger of Indian media assets

(Reuters) – Reliance Industries and Walt Disney on Thursday completed the $8.5 billion merger of their Indian media assets, which have been split into three divisions, with each unit having its own CEO.

The companies said the newly formed divisions are entertainment, which houses Reliance’s Colours TV channels and Disney’s Star; digital, home to online streaming platforms JioCinema and Hotstar, and sports.

Former Google executive Kiran Mani, who leads JioCinema, will take charge of the digital organisation.

Reuters reported last month that Disney Hotstar’s CEO Sajith Sivanandan resigned from the role as business integration gathered pace for the merger.

The entertainment division will be led by Kevin Vaz, who is currently the top boss at Reliance’s Viacom 18 Media.

Sanjog Gupta, who heads sports at Disney’s Indian media operations, will take charge of the merged company’s sports division.

The completion of the merger comes after the companies won key approval from India’s antitrust regulator in August after assuaging regulatory worries about their grip on broadcasting rights for cricket, India’s favourite sport.

The merger will create India’s biggest entertainment player, with 120 TV channels and two streaming services, and will compete with Sony, Netflix and Amazon.

(Reporting by Kashish Tandon in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D’Silva)