MUMBAI: The National Company Law Tribunal ( NCLT), Mumbai, has cleared the cross-border merger of Star Television Productions Limited (STPL), registered in the British Virgin Islands, with its Indian affiliate, Star India Private Limited (SIPL), now known as Jio Star India.
Jio Star India, a joint venture between Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) and Disney, was created in November 2024 through the merger of Star India and Viacom18. The combined company was valued at $8.5 billion.
In its September 26 order, the tribunal approved the merger under sections 230–232 of the Companies Act, calling it “fair, reasonable and not in violation of any provisions of law”.
STPL owns the ‘STAR’ brand and licenses it to group companies. In November 2024, RIL bought 63.16% of STPL from a Disney shareholder for Rs 211.6 crore, making STPL its subsidiary.
The merger brings brand ownership and operations under one roof at Jio Star, which runs more than 100 TV channels across genres under the Star and Colors brands, and also operates streaming platform JioHotstar.
The boards of both companies cleared the scheme on September 24, 2024. Under the share-swap ratio, STPL shareholders will get 143 Jio Star equity shares (Rs 10 each) for each STPL share ($1 or Rs 83.5 at the time).
BDO Valuation Advisory LLP pegged Star India’s enterprise value at Rs 34,609 crore and equity value at Rs 26,484 crore (Rs 467.9 a share), after accounting for debt, cash, investments, liabilities and surplus assets. The valuation covers Star India’s operations before its merger with Viacom18.
Star India’s trailing 12-month revenue till June 30, 2024, was Rs 9,159 crore from TV and Rs 4,707 crore from digital. The TV business was valued at 1.62 times revenue and the digital business at 4.20 times revenue. Digital costs include International Cricket Council rights payments to be booked between 2024-25 and 2027-28.
STPL’s net asset value was assessed at $40.1 million (Rs 335 crore).
Jio Star said the merger will simplify the holding structure, optimise capital use and cut costs. Star India’s unsecured creditors had unanimously approved the deal in December 2024.
The tribunal clarified that all assets and liabilities of STPL will move to Jio Star, but offences committed by officers before the merger will still be liable under section 240 of the Companies Act. The Income Tax Department can also review the deal for possible tax avoidance.
The appointed date of the scheme will be its effective date. Jio Star will have to file the order with the Registrar of Companies within 30 days.
Jio Star India, a joint venture between Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) and Disney, was created in November 2024 through the merger of Star India and Viacom18. The combined company was valued at $8.5 billion.
In its September 26 order, the tribunal approved the merger under sections 230–232 of the Companies Act, calling it “fair, reasonable and not in violation of any provisions of law”.
STPL owns the ‘STAR’ brand and licenses it to group companies. In November 2024, RIL bought 63.16% of STPL from a Disney shareholder for Rs 211.6 crore, making STPL its subsidiary.
The merger brings brand ownership and operations under one roof at Jio Star, which runs more than 100 TV channels across genres under the Star and Colors brands, and also operates streaming platform JioHotstar.
The boards of both companies cleared the scheme on September 24, 2024. Under the share-swap ratio, STPL shareholders will get 143 Jio Star equity shares (Rs 10 each) for each STPL share ($1 or Rs 83.5 at the time).
BDO Valuation Advisory LLP pegged Star India’s enterprise value at Rs 34,609 crore and equity value at Rs 26,484 crore (Rs 467.9 a share), after accounting for debt, cash, investments, liabilities and surplus assets. The valuation covers Star India’s operations before its merger with Viacom18.
Star India’s trailing 12-month revenue till June 30, 2024, was Rs 9,159 crore from TV and Rs 4,707 crore from digital. The TV business was valued at 1.62 times revenue and the digital business at 4.20 times revenue. Digital costs include International Cricket Council rights payments to be booked between 2024-25 and 2027-28.
STPL’s net asset value was assessed at $40.1 million (Rs 335 crore).
Jio Star said the merger will simplify the holding structure, optimise capital use and cut costs. Star India’s unsecured creditors had unanimously approved the deal in December 2024.
The tribunal clarified that all assets and liabilities of STPL will move to Jio Star, but offences committed by officers before the merger will still be liable under section 240 of the Companies Act. The Income Tax Department can also review the deal for possible tax avoidance.
The appointed date of the scheme will be its effective date. Jio Star will have to file the order with the Registrar of Companies within 30 days.
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