Shares of TV18 Broadcast (TV18) and Network18 Media & Investments (Network18) rallied up to 13 per cent on the BSE in Thursday's intraday trade after Reliance Industries' (RIL's) entertainment arm Viacom18 and Walt Disney Co's Indian media arm on Wednesday received competition watchdog Competition Commission of India (CCI)'s approval for their $8.5 billion merger.
Shares of Network18 surged 10 per cent to Rs 106.01 amid heavy volumes. At 10:00 AM, the stock was trading 7 per cent higher at Rs 102.53 as compared to 0.22 per cent gain in the BSE Sensex. Average trading volume on the counter jumped over four-fold with a nearly 17 million shares having changed hands on the NSE and BSE together. The stock had hit a 52-week high of Rs 136.20 on January 19, 2024.
Shares of TV18 Broadcast, meanwhile, soared 13 per cent to Rs 54.26 on the back of over three-fold jump in the average trading volume. Around 52 million shares had changed hands on the NSE and BSE, together, till the time of writing of this report.
The stock, later, pared some gains to trade 7 per cent higher at Rs 51.51 around 10:00 AM. It had hit a 52-week high of Rs 68.62 on January 19.
TV18, a subsidiary of Network18, is primarily engaged in the business of news broadcasting. It runs the largest news network in India, spanning business news (four channels), general news (one each in English and Hindi), and regional news (fourteen channels across India, including a joint venture, News18 Lokmat). Brands like CNBC TV18, News18 India, and CNN News18 are part of this news bouquet.
Viacom 18 Media Private Limited (Viacom18), on the other hand, is a subsidiary of TV18. It operates a portfolio of television channels and digital platforms, and is engaged in production of content.
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In February this year, Viacom18 and Disney India's Star India had announced a merger of their media assets. As part of the transaction, the media undertaking of Viacom18 will be merged into Star India Private Limited (SIPL) through a court-approved scheme of arrangement.
This merger makes the combined entity India's largest entertainment conglomerate with a portfolio of 120 channels. The new entity will have 40-45 per cent of the industry, as per Emkay Global, which was released in February after the announcement of the merger.
As per the merger agreement, Reliance Industries will invest approximately Rs 11,500 crore in the new entity, which will compete against Sony, Netflix, Amazon and Zee.
The joint venture will be controlled by Reliance Industries, of which 16.34 per cent would be owned by RIL, 46.82 per cent by Viacom18, and 36.84 per cent by Disney.
The JV will be one of the leading TV and digital streaming platforms for entertainment and sports content in India, bringing together iconic media assets across entertainment (e.g. Colors, StarPlus, StarGOLD) and sports (e.g. Star Sports and Sports18) including access to highly anticipated events across television and digital platforms through JioCinema and Hotstar. The JV will have over 750 million viewers across India and will also cater to the Indian diaspora across the world, the companies had said in common press release.
The JV will also be granted exclusive rights to distribute Disney films and productions in India, with a license to more than 30,000 Disney content assets, providing a full suite of entertainment options for the Indian consumer, the press release had said.