ZEE Moves NCLT Against Sony For Calling Off $10-Billion Merger

ZEE initiated appropriate legal action to contest Sony's claims of $90 million as a termination fee, for which the Japanese firm has moved the Singapore International Arbitration Centre

On Wednesday, shares of ZEE recovered and jumped nearly 7 per cent on Wednesday, a day after hitting the lower circuit.

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Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL) on Wednesday said it has approached the National Company Law Tribunal against Sony's decision to call off the proposed merger, the PTI reported. Besides, it has also initiated appropriate legal action to contest Sony's claims of $90 million (around Rs 748.5 crore) as a termination fee, for which the Japanese firm has moved the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC), according to the PTI report.

In a regulatory filing, ZEE said it has asked Culver Max and Bangla Entertainment PVT Ltd (BEPL) to immediately withdraw the termination and confirm that they will perform their obligations to give effect to and implement the merger scheme, sanctioned by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT).

The company has approached the Mumbai bench of NCLT, seeking directions to implement the merger scheme, it added.

Further, the company has initiated appropriate legal action to contest Culver Max and BEPL’s claims in the arbitration proceedings before the SIAC, the filing said. 

ZEEL spent Rs 366.59 crore on compliances till September 2023 for its now-failed merger with Sony, which called off the deal on Monday.

The company had spent Rs 176.20 crore in the financial year that ended in March 2023. Besides, it spent Rs 190.39 crore in the first six months of the current fiscal, according to a regulatory filing by the Subhash Chandra family-promoted media entity. After signing an agreement, ZEEL was racing to receive a series of regulatory clearances from SEBI, CCI, ROC, etc.

On Wednesday, shares of ZEE recovered and jumped nearly 7 per cent on Wednesday, a day after falling steeply on Sony calling off the proposed merger deal with the media group. The company's scrip gained 6.70 per cent to close at Rs 166.35 apiece on the BSE. On the NSE, ZEEL's shares advanced 6.28 per cent to settle at Rs 165.75 per piece.