Viacom18 Becomes Fully Owned by Reliance Industries

1 Jan 2025 , 02:02 PM

Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) on December 31, 2024 said that Viacom18 Media Private Ltd had become an entity of its group. Viacom18 is no longer the subsidiary of Network18.

RIL had on December 30, 2024 converted over 24 crore preference shares into equity shares thus making Viacom18 its wholly-owned subsidiary.

RIL holds 83.88% of Viacom18’s equity and 70.49% on a fully diluted basis. RIL had stated back in November 2024 that it held 70.49% equity and preference share in Viacom18. RIL has now bought a further 13.01% of Paramount Global’s stake in Viacom18 in March 2024 for ₹4,286 crore.

Till date, shareholding in Viacom18 has been constituted to be held 70.49% by RIL, 13.54% by Network18 and 15.97% by Bodhi Tree Systems.

As of November 2024, RIL had also finally completed the merger of its media business with Walt Disney’s India operations. This action manifests that RIL is concentrating to become a leader in the Indian media and entertainment industry.

Under the charismatic Mukesh Ambani, RIL has continued to strengthen its media, telecom, and retail market presence further accentuating its commitment to diversification.