Viacom18 Completes Partnership with Reliance, Bodhi Tree Systems, And Paramount Global

On Wednesday, Viacom18 said that the plan to merge Reliance Storage Limited with itself had been effective as a result of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) Mumbai's approval.

As a result, Viacom18 granted shares to Bodhi Tree Systems and RIL group entities as consideration for the merger scheme.

After this merger is complete, JioCinema would have been fully integrated into Viacom18, and Viacom18 will have access to Rs 15,145 crore in cash for projected growth. Of this amount, Rs 10,839 crore will come from RIL group entities, and Rs 4,306 crore will come from Bodhi Tree Systems. The sovereign wealth fund of the State of Qatar, the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), has invested in Bodhi Tree Systems.

Following the completion of these transactions, Viacom18's shareholding will be as follows:

1. Equity : TV18 (50.994%), Paramount Global (48.994%), and Bodhi Tree (0.011%).

2. CCPS: Bodhi Tree (17.8%) and RIL group entities (82.2%).

RIL group businesses hold 60.37 percent of the fully diluted basis, followed by TV18 with 13.54 percent, Bodhi Tree with 13.08 percent, and Paramount Global with 13.01 percent.

Through the partnership, Viacom 18 will be able to innovate and disrupt the media and entertainment industry. Uday Shankar and James Murdoch will give Viacom 18 strategic and operational advise based on their experience creating enduring media companies.

The Board of Viacom18 has accepted the appointment of Uday Shankar. As a shareholder and supplier of premium international content to Viacom18, Paramount Global will continue to exist.

According to a Viacom18 press release, this special relationship brings together the largest conglomerate in India, two of the most well-known media industry veterans, and a top global media and entertainment firm.

According to the press release, Viacom 18's digital-focused strategy is already yielding rich rewards, with IPL's opening weekend's JioCinema viewers surpassing the digital viewership registered in the entire season last year. With 2.5 crore or more app downloads in a single day, 147 million video views on the first weekend, and a peak concurrency of 1.6 crores during the first match, the platform broke multiple records.

JioCinema's significant fan-focused features, which include features like 4K stream, 12-language coverage, 16 distinct feeds, hype mode, and multi-cam setup, among others, contributed to this high viewership.