US based entertainment giant Viacom Inc has acquired 50% of Prism TV which is an entity of Reliance Industries owned Network18 Group for a total consideration of R940 Cr. The remaining 50% will continue to be owned by the Network18 Group which is also Viacom’s Indian partner in the Viacom18 joint venture. Through the joint venture, Viacom18 operates 10 channels including MTV, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central and COLORS, a leading Hindi general entertainment brand. The transaction took place between Nickelodeon Asia Holdings PTE, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Viacom and Shinano Retail Private Limited, a company wholly owned by Reliance Industrial Investments and Holdings Limited. They received clearance from India’s Foreign Investment Promotion Board earlier this month. Bob Bakish, the President and CEO of Viacom International Media Networks, said, “Regional TV networks and regional ad markets are the next wave of growth in India. Having a strong national and broad regional presence gives us a powerful platform to launch additional brands, and introduce successful franchises and formats across India.” Regional entertainment channels like ETV Marathi, ETV Kannada, ETV Bangla, ETV Oriya and ETV Gujarati are all owned and operated by Prism TV and were recently rebranded under ‘COLORS’ umbrella. In May last year, Reliance Industries Limited was set to acquire majority stake in Network18 Media & Investments Limited including its subsidiary TV18 Broadcast Limited and the consequent open offers for consideration of R4000 Cr. There were reports earlier this month that Reliance Industries Limited had decided to reduce 3.10% stake in Network18 Media & Investments Limited by selling 3.25 Cr shares of Network18 to bring down the aggregate shareholding of the promoter and promoter group in the company to 75% as per a SEBI rule.
Source: dealcurry.comViacom Inc Acquires 50% Stake In Prism TV For R940 Cr
Industry: Entertainment 2015-11-30
