Ambani has been deeply involved in Reliance’s sports initiatives including the Indian Premier League team, Mumbai Indians, and Indian Super League, which incidentally is a 65:35 JV between Reliance and Disney. She is also the first Indian woman to be elected as a member of the International Olympic Committee.
Reliance Industries didn’t respond to ET’s queries.
As reported earlier by ET, the mega-merger deal between Star India and Viacom18 has been concluded. The contours of the deal have been finalised and it is expected to be announced on Wednesday, the people said.
“Nita Ambani and Uday Shankar will be the chairperson and vice chairperson of the merged entity,” said one of the persons cited above. The person added that Shankar is likely to be Reliance’s nominee on the merged entity’s board.
The sole board seat given to Bodhi Tree is likely to be taken up by its investor, Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), the person said.INQ Holding LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of QIA, had last year invested in Bodhi Tree Systems.Both Reliance and Disney have set an ambitious deadline for completing the merger by October, another person stated.
However, legal experts cautioned that the completion of the merger will depend on the time it takes to receive Competition Commission of India (CCI) clearance. “Most merger deals have a two- to three-year sunset clause. This will be no different,” the person cited above said.
People earlier told ET that Reliance may own 61% of the proposed combined company, with Disney holding 33% and Bodhi Tree having the remaining 6%.
Shari Redstone-promoted Paramount Global, a shareholder in Viacom18, is set to exit the company with Reliance buying its stake. Reliance is expected to invest $1-2 billion, primarily for infusing growth capital into the merged entity and the buyout of Paramount’s stake.
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