Massive Reliance-Disney merger cleared by India watchdog

A $8.5bn (£6.43bn) merger between Disney and Reliance Industries has been provisionally approved by the India’s competition watchdog.

The venture, in which billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries will have majority stake, will create India’s biggest entertainment player which will compete with Sony, Netflix and Amazon.

The joint venture will enjoy broadcasting rights for a majority of India’s sports events, including coveted cricket tournaments.

The merger is expected to be completed in the next six months and will be chaired by Mr Ambani’s wife, Nita Ambani, according to reports.

The deal is “subject to the compliance of voluntary modifications”, India’s competition watchdog said in a press release on Wednesday.

It had previously raised concerns about the control this merger would grant the two companies over broadcasting rights for cricket, the country’s most popular sport with a massive fan base.

Streaming services offered by Disney and Reliance have been attracting Indian subscribers for years by providing free livestreams of cricket matches.

According to Reuters news agency, the two companies have spent $9.5bn on TV and streaming rights for the Indian Premier League (IPL), T20 World Cups and matches held by the International Cricket Council.

The competition watchdog had raised concerns that the new entity could increase advertising prices for these matches.

However, the two companies have reportedly pledged not to raise advertising rates excessively for cricket match streams.

They have also said they would sell seven to eight of their non-sports TV channels to balance out revenues, a source told Reuters.

With the merger, the two companies will also have Indian broadcast rights for the Wimbledon, MotoGP and the English Premier League or EPL.

The deal “creates a huge digital entertainment giant”, Gurmeet Chadha, managing partner of financial consultant Complete Circle, told CNBC-TV18 news channel.

“They have the content muscle and their tech capabilities are well-known. They have the reach in terms of distribution. They have the relative analytics and insight into what content is consumed where,” he said.

In a country with 1.4bn people and 90% internet penetration, “this has huge, huge long-term implications,” he added.