Zee and Sony make a final effort to revive a $10 billion merger deal

20 Feb 2024 , 11:01 AM

Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL) has engaged with Sony Pictures Networks India (SNPI) once more in a last-ditch bid to resurrect their $10 billion merger, which was called off on January 22, according to a source.

According to the news, officials from both parties met in Mumbai during the previous fortnight to save the contract, but serious disagreements remained that might jeopardize the resurrection attempt.

According to the source, Zee is expected to tell Sony within the next 24-48 hours if it agrees to the terms and conditions.

The mega-merger between Zee and the Sony group was called off on January 22, with the latter submitting a termination letter to formally abandon the merger deal.

According to sources, one of the reasons for the $10 billion merger being called off was a lack of agreement on who would lead the amalgamated business.

According to the merger agreement, the transaction is intended to be completed by December 21, 2023. However, the absence of agreement forced the merger into a month-long grace period that concluded on January 21.

On August 10, 2023, the NCLT authorized the merger proposal, which had the potential to establish a gigantic media corporation. If the merger had gone through, the merged business would have held more than 70 TV stations, two video streaming services (ZEE5 and Sony LIV), and two film studios (Zee Studios and Sony Pictures Films India), making it India’s largest entertainment network.

Following this development, Zee Entertainment’s counter gained as much as 5% to hit an intraday high of Rs 192.

At around 10.22 AM, Zee Entertainment was trading 3.92% higher at Rs 185.50, against the previous close of Rs178.50 on NSE.

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