Mumbai, April 8 -- Eyebrows were raised when The Walt Disney Co. agreed to merge its India unit with Reliance Industries Ltd entities at a valuation of $3.12 billion, since the business was seen to be worth much more when Disney acquired it nearly seven years earlier. However, documents accessed by Mint reveal a different picture.

On 28 February, Reliance, its step-down subsidiary Viacom18 Media and Disney agreed to combine the businesses of Viacom18 and Star India, valuing them at $3.9 billion and $3.12 billion respectively. Multiple media reports and pundits pointed out that Disney had taken a steep haircut, as Star India, when Disney bought it from Rupert Murdoch in 2019 as part of a $71 billion global deal for 21st Century Fox, was v...