Sony Board's Decision Day: $10 Billion Zee Entertainment Merger Fate Hangs in the Balance

19 Jan 2024 , 03:23 PM

According to persons familiar with the subject, the Sony Group had a board meeting on 19 January to make a critical decision on the proposed $10 billion merger of its India operations with Zee Entertainment Enterprises. The business is expected to notify the Tokyo Stock Exchange of the decision early next week, indicating the probable termination of the merger proposal.

According to reports, the Japanese conglomerate is also considering cancelling the purchase, owing to a long-running standoff over the merged entity’s leadership. The central problem concerns Punit Goenka, Zee’s CEO and the son of the company’s founder, Subhash Chandra, in directing the merged firm.

Although the agreement signed in 2021 indicated that Goenka would be the CEO of the new company, Sony has changed its mind and does not want him to manage the company, especially given the ongoing regulatory probe.

In June, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) accused Zee of misleading activities by falsely claiming loan recovery to conceal Chandra-related private financing agreements. The market regulator ruled in an interim decision that Chandra and his son Goenka abused their positions and misappropriated cash. As a result, Goenka was barred from holding executive or director roles in publicly traded companies.

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