NEW DELHI: Former Walt Disney executive Uday Shankar will be named as vice chairman of the board following a merger between the India media assets of Reliance Industries and Disney, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Reliance and Disney are expected to make a formal announcement on Wednesday after signing a binding pact. Shankar is set to take a stake of around 9% in the new merged entity, Reuters reported in February.

Disney and India’s Reliance agree merger

Reliance and Disney each have a streaming service and 120 television channels between them and the deal is expected to strengthen Reliance’s hold over India’s $28 billion media and entertainment market.

Reuters on Tuesday reported that the new entity is likely to have Nita Ambani, wife of Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani, as chair of the board.