Zee-Sony Merger: Talks are still going on on the $10 billion merger between Zee and Sony. Zee Entertainment has now issued an official statement in this regard. According to the company, the news related to the end of the deal is wrong.
On Monday, Bloomberg claimed in a report that Sony may end the proposed deal and issue a termination notice before January 20.
This morning itself, quoting sources, it was told that ZEE and Punit Goenka are still trying to complete the deal.
Sources have also said that Punit Goenka is not keen on becoming the chairman of the entity formed after the merger. At present the talks can go in any direction. The company is trying to implement the scheme passed by its shareholders.
Fall in shares
After Bloomberg’s report, there was a huge fall in the shares of Zee Entertainment on Tuesday. There is a decline of 9.7% in the company’s shares at 11:56 pm. This fall had reached 15.75% intraday. In comparison, the benchmark Nifty 50 is up 0.86%.
Earlier there was agreement on extension
This deal was to be completed by 21 December 2023. According to the agreement, extension can be taken three times. Zee had asked for an extension in December. After this, news came that Sony has agreed to extend the date of merger.
Actually, the issue was on who would lead the new company. According to the master plan, Punit Goenka was to become the managing director of the new entity. But in June 2023, SEBI had banned Punit Goenka and Subhash Chandra from becoming board members of any company.
This ban was imposed during the ongoing investigation into the misappropriation of funds. Goenka was successful in getting the SEBI order canceled by SAT in October 2023. Due to getting entangled in all such legal complications, the merger deal kept getting delayed.
