TV18 and E18 to merge with Network18 consolidating TV and digital news assets

Network18 Media & Investments Ltd. (Network18) and TV18 Broadcast Ltd (TV18) on Wednesday announced a Scheme of Arrangement in terms of which TV18 and e-Eighteen.com Ltd (E18 which owns and operates moneycontrol website and app) will merge with Network18.

The proposed scheme will consolidate TV and digital news businesses of the Network18 group in one company and will help create India’s largest platform-agnostic news media powerhouse with the widest footprint across languages, straddling both TV and digital.

Under the proposed merger scheme, shareholders of TV18 Broadcast will get 100 shares of Network18 Media for every 172 shares held in the former. Shareholders of E18 will receive 19 shares of Network18 Media for every 1 share held in the former.

It will enable Network18 to consolidate and further grow its business from a position of strength. This will present a unique opportunity to all shareholders to participate in the media business of the group through one listed entity. The merged entity will comprise of the TV portfolio of TV18 (20 news channels in 16 languages and CNBCTV18.com), digital assets of Network18 (News18.com platform across 13 languages and Firstpost) as also moneycontrol website and app.

Viacom18 with its portfolio of JioCinema and 40 TV channels will be a direct subsidiary of Network18. Network18 will continue to hold its investment in BookMyShow.

As consumers and advertisers increasingly gravitate towards omni-channel experiences across different aspects of their lives, having a deep and integrated presence across both TV and digital media will enable the merged entity to serve them better. Further, as Network18 group has been working towards convergence, an integrated entity for news gathering and dissemination is expected to result in cost and content synergies.