Viacom Picks 50% Stake In Indian Regional Networks - Quick Facts

(RTTNews) - Media conglomerate Viacom, Inc. (VIA, VIAB) announced Friday it acquired a 50 percent interest in India's Prism TV Pvt. Ltd. For 9.4 billion rupees or about $153 million. Prism TV owns and operates regional entertainment channels in India, including ETV Marathi, ETV Kannada, ETV Bangla, ETV Oriya and ETV Gujarati, all of which were recently rebranded under the 'COLORS' umbrella.

The deal was completed today between Nickelodeon Asia Holdings Pte Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Viacom Inc., and Shinano Retail Pvt. Ltd, a company effectively 100 percent owned by Reliance Industrial Investments and Holdings Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Reliance Industries Ltd. The parties received clearance from India's Foreign Investment Promotion Board earlier this month.

With this acquisition, Viacom will hold 50 percent of Prism TV and the remaining 50 percent interest will continue to be owned by the Network18 Group, Viacom's partner in the Viacom18 joint venture.

Viacom18 is the fastest growing entertainment network in India, operating 10 channels including MTV, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central and COLORS, a leading Hindi general entertainment brand.