The Mumbai bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has granted final approval for the merger of TV18 Broadcast and e-Eighteen.com (E18) into Network18 Media and Investments, promoted by Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL).
The move comes ahead of the merger of the India media businesses of RIL and Walt Disney to create the country’s largest media and entertainment company, which recently got approvals of the Competition Commission of India (CCI) and NCLT.
E18 and TV18 will be dissolved without winding up once their merger with Network18 gets the final approval from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB).
In an order delivered on September 5, the NCLT directed the companies to file copies of the order and the scheme with the Registrar of Companies within 30 days, and with the Superintendent of Stamps for adjudication of any payable stamp duty within 60 days.
It also instructed other regulatory bodies to act based on the certified copies of the order and scheme.
TV18 is a listed entity that holds a 13.54% stake in Viacom18, which is currently in the process of merging with Disney’s Star India. E18, an unlisted subsidiary of Network18, owns news portal Moneycontrol.
According to a recent report by India Ratings (Ind-Ra), Viacom18 contributes approximately 80% of Network18’s consolidated revenue. However, after Viacom18’s transfer to Star India, Network18’s size and scale will significantly decrease, it said.
Ind-Ra, however, noted that this reduction in scale will not impact the strong strategic and operational linkages between Network18 and RIL as the remaining news media businesses will remain strategically important to RIL.
During RIL’s annual general meeting on August 29, chairman Mukesh Ambani had said Network18 is now leading in both general and business news and is the only Indian network with global ambitions. “I believe it is time for India, as the world’s most populous nation, to assert its voice and gain its rightful space in the influential global media,” he said.
The merged entity will include TV18’s 20 news channels in 16 languages, along with Network18’s digital assets. Network18’s market cap stood at Rs 9,442 crore on Tuesday, while TV18 had a market cap of Rs 8,348 crore.
As part of the merger, TV18 shareholders will receive 100 shares of Network18 for every 172 shares held in TV18, while E18 shareholders will receive 19 shares of Network18 for every share held in E18.
Source: Economic Times