Sony questions Zee’s merger plea, NCLT hearing on March 12

In response to Sony’s plea, the Mumbai bench of NCLT has issued a notice to Zee, seeking a response. The development has come amid reports that the Sony Group has formally withdrawn its papers filed with the NCLT for the merger of its business with Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL).

The Japanese entertainment firm made multiple filings to India’s National Company Law Tribunal to exit the merger pact with Zee, Bloomberg reported on Thursday referring to people familiar with the matter.

A few days ago, Zee Entertainment made a final attempt to revive the deal with Japan’s Sony Group, according to an Economic Times report, that has been rejected by Zee Entertainment.

Zee Entertainment’s share price closed 3.54% lower at ₹155.35 per share on BSE on Friday.

Zee-Sony merger termination
Sony Group terminated its deal with Zee Entertainment to build a $10 billion media giant due to certain unresolved “closing conditions” and leadership disputes, including disagreements over CEO Punit Goenka’s involvement in regulatory issues.

The collapse of one of India’s biggest media mergers has been followed by the finalisation of a mega deal between Reliance Industries Ltd. and Walt Disney Co. The two companies announced a merger of their India media businesses on Wednesday, creating a $8.5 billion behemoth that will be the largest broadcasting and digital company in the world’s most populous market. The Reliance-Disney merger is likely to impact the business of Sony Group, Zee Entertainment, and other industry players in the country.

“Content producers and advertisers are likely to gravitate toward the Reliance-Disney entity, which will also cater to the largest set of audience,” Bloomberg quoted Pulkit Chawla, a sector analyst with Emkay Global Financial Services Ltd. from a report Thursday. LiveMint