The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) Mumbai has given the initial go-ahead for the merger between Reliance Industries Ltd’s Viacom18 and Walt Disney’s Star India, marking a significant milestone in the creation of a $ 8 billion media giant.

The tribunal, in its order dated May 7, has directed the convening of meetings for secured and unsecured creditors to approve the merger scheme, The Economic Times reported today.

The merger, first announced in March, involves Viacom18 and its wholly-owned subsidiary Digital18 transferring their assets to Star India in a two-stage process. Initially, Viacom18‘s TV and streaming assets will move to Digital18, followed by a demerger of these assets to Star India. As consideration, Digital18 will receive Viacom18’s streaming platform JioCinema and its media operations for a combined Rs 26,955 crore.

Retired Justice Suresh Chandrakant Gupte has been appointed to chair the creditor meetings. In his absence, Naina Krishna Murthy of Krishnamurthy & Co will assume the role, with B Narasimhan of BN Associates acting as the scrutinizer.