Ambani-owned TV18 will have majority stake in Viacom18

Mumbai: The Mukesh Ambani-controlled

TV18 Broadcast

will increase its stake in

Viacom18

— operator of

MTV

,

Nickelodeon

and

Vh1

channels — to 51%, the company said on Wednesday. TV18 Broadcast, which already owns 50% in Viacom18, will buy an additional 1% from existing foreign partner

Viacom Inc

for $20 million. The consideration pegs Viacom18’s valuation at $2 billion.

The transaction will help Ambani to deepen synergies with his telecom company Reliance Jio. Along with the change in shareholding structure, the brands and content licence agreement between Viacom18 and Viacom Inc has been extended for another 10 years.

Viacom Inc said that it remains committed to its India joint venture and is retaining a “vast majority stake” in Viacom18. The broadcast unit had posted an 8% growth in revenues in the third quarter of fiscal 2018, buoyed by a recovery in the advertising environment. Its revenue in fiscal 2017 was Rs 3,040 crore.

Viacom18, when floated by media entrepreneur

Raghav Bahl

and Viacom Inc in 2007, had just three entertainment channels. Today, it operates 44 channels across 80 countries in six languages. The company has also diversified into other lines of businesses such as film production, merchandising and live events. The transaction, said Viacom Inc’s CEO of international division

David Lynn

, will help in accelerating growth through closer integration and alignment with TV18 Broadcast’s parent Network 18 Group and its affiliates, including Reliance Jio.