Sony Group Corp and Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd have a grace period of one month starting Thursday to finalise the merger of the India operations of both entities, Bloomberg reported citing anonymous sources. Once the merger is completed, the companies will together create a $10 billion media giant.
In the merger pact signed in 2021, a 30-day period after the December 21 deadline was included if either of the parties needed more time, the report said citing people familiar with the discussions between the companies. The anonymous sources stated that Zee is hopeful of tying up all loose ends before the completion of the grace period.
At the same time, Zee requested an extension in a filing dated December 17, 2023, without specifying how much time it was asking for. Sony also said on Tuesday that it wanted to hear Zee’s proposals regarding the completion of the ‘remaining critical closing conditions’. The former, via another exchange filing on Wednesday, stated that Sony has expressed its intent to ‘enter into good faith negotiations’ on the matter.
The transaction has been in talks for about two years now and has seen its fair share of delays. It looked to be on the brink of collapsing after differences emerged between the two firms regarding who would take the leadership of the new entity, Bloomberg reported a month earlier.
While Zee wanted its CEO Punit Goenka to preside over the newly merged company, Sony expressed concern regarding the same as Goenka has an ongoing regulatory probe against him. The 2021 agreement included the name of Goenka as the new head for the merged media company. The merged entity will see Sony Pictures Networks India Pvt own a 50.86 per cent stake, while Zee founders will own 3.99 per cent of the company, with the rest owned by the public shareholders.
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