Billionaire Mukesh Ambani is now calling off the merger between the entertainment business company Viacom18 and Sony Pictures Network India. This decision was implemented after a strategic. Reliance Industries Limited is one of the biggest companies in India and deals in telecommunication, textiles, natural resources, retail, and the petroleum sector. Reliance is the biggest largest publicly traded company in India by market capitalization. The company is now the biggest company in India after it recently surpassed Indian Oil Corporation. The Mumbai headquartered company became India’s first company on June 22, 2020, to cross 150 billion USD. Sony Corporation is now the largest video game console company and the second-largest record company. It is also in the media and television sectors.
So, Why Viacom18 and Sony’s Merger Was Put To Rest?
A decision was made regarding the merger that Sony would take 74% of the company’s stake in the merger between Sony and Viacom18. This is what is the root cause of the halting of the deal. Now, Reliance had assets residing with Viacom18, and with the merger, these assets would eventually be owned by Sony for it will be holding the larger portion. This is the reason why Mukesh Ambani rushed in to stop the deal. Now, sources close to the company say that Reliance is now more interested in investing further in the digital content creation field. But, this sudden development in the nature of the company’s decision has attracted many people.
Now, it is being said that Reliance wants to resume its control over digital media. Also, it is not hidden that there are many other digital content companies and other firms looking to partner with Jio and Reliance. Hence, indeed we are waiting for the next move that the telecom giant Mukesh Ambani has to produce. Viacom18 Media Limited is a joint venture between organizations TV18 Broadcast Ltd. and Viacom Inc wherein, TV18 owns 51% share in the unit. Currently, Viacom18 operates on more than 40 channels in around 7 languages. It also works on a film company which is called Viacom18 Motion Pictures. Also, it has a video sharing platform called Voot and takes part in live events and merchandise as well.
Hence, indeed Viacom18 is a big company and it is interesting to know that Reliance wants to continue with its interest in digital content sharing and creation. It is known that Reliance wanted the major stake in the deal while Sony was not giving it and hence, the deal fell apart.
