NCLT approves merger process for Reliance’s arm Viacom18 and Star India

The Mumbai bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has approved the merger plan involving Reliance Industries Ltd’s Viacom18, its wholly-owned subsidiary Digital18, and Walt Disney’s Star India, the Economic Times reported.

In a ruling on May 7, a division bench comprising judicial member Kishore Vemulapalli and technical member Anu Jagmohan Singh asked the companies to arrange a meeting with their secured and unsecured creditors to obtain approval for the merger.

The tribunal has designated retired Justice Suresh Chandrakant Gupte as the chairperson for the meetings of secured and unsecured creditors of Viacom18 and unsecured creditors of Star India, the report said.

In Justice Gupte’s absence, Naina Krishna Murthy, a partner at Krishnamurthy & Co, will assume the role. B Narsimhan, proprietor of BN Associates, has been appointed as scrutineer for the creditors’ meetings of both companies, with Venkataraman K serving as an alternative if Narsimhan is unavailable.

The companies were asked to serve notices, along with a copy of the merger plan, to various government bodies and regulatory authorities.

Failure to respond within 30 days will be construed as no objection to the proposed scheme by the authorities, ET claimed.