More than a year after signing definitive agreements, the merger of direct-to-home companies Dish TV and Videocon d2h was completed on Thursday, creating the country’s largest DTH operator with 29 million subscribers.
The two companies had entered into definitive agreements in November 2016 “for the amalgamation of Videocon d2h into and with Dish TV through a scheme of arrangement amongst Dish TV, Videocon d2h and their respective shareholders and creditors.”
In a BSE filing, Dish TV said that it has filed the necessary documents with the Registrar of Companies, Mumbai.
“Accordingly, post completing all the steps pursuant to the aforementioned Scheme read with the NCLT order, Videocon d2h Limited has merged into and with Dish TV India on March 22, 2018, which is the effective date of the scheme,” the company added.
In a statement, Jawahar Goel, Chairman and Managing Director, Dish TV India, said: “Today, Videocon d2h and Dish TV India have become one entity. This amalgamation positions the new entity for exceptional future growth and profitability and puts on us the responsibility to lead the DTH industry in India to the next level.”
A meeting of the board of directors is scheduled on March 26 to consider and initiate necessary incidental actions in relation to the scheme of arrangement for the merger.
“Dish TV and Videocon d2h reported separate revenue and EBITDA numbers which at a pro-forma level added up to ₹60,862 million and ₹19,909 million for FY-17,” the statement added.
The proposed transaction got an approval from the Competition Commission of India on May 4, 2017, while the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting gave its nod in December 2017. Meanwhile, the Mumbai bench of National Company Law Tribunal had given its nod to the merger in July 2017. The merger has also got the necessary approvals from SEBI, NSE and BSE.