Viacom 18 & Zee merger to create India media giant
India could see the biggest electronic media merger in history. Viacom18 Media Pvt. Ltd and Subhash Chandra`s Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd are in initial talks for a potential merger that could create a large media firm with interests spanning broadcast, OTT, live entertainment, and movie production. Viacom18 is a joint venture between TV18 Broadcast Ltd (51%) and US-based ViacomCBS Inc. (49%). TV18 is a unit of Network18 Media and Investments Ltd, majorly owned by Mukesh Ambani`s Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL). Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd, founded by Essel Group`s Subhash Chandra is majority-owned by foreign institutional investors, including Investco Oppenheimer Developing Markets Fund and Ofi Global Fund China LLC. The merger of Viacom18 and Zee is proposed to be done through a share swap deal. The talks started a few weeks ago, and the deal is unlikely to involve any cash transaction. If a merger takes place, the combined entity will own and manage the largest number of TV channels and have the largest market capitalization in India in the electronic media industry. It may also mean that the promoters of Viacom18 could become among the largest shareholders of the combined entity as more than 65% of ZEEL is owned by foreign institutional investors. Reportedly, the two parties are focusing on creating a content major versus their controls in the merged entity.