NEW DELHI: Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL) on Sunday sought an extension in the December 21, 2023 deadline of its proposed merger with Culver Max Entertainment (CMEPL), formerly known as Sony Pictures Networks India.
ZEEL had approached Culver Max and Bangla Entertainment Pvt Ltd (BEPL) for an extension in the deadline to complete the proposed merger, which will create India’s biggest media conglomerate, said regulatory updates.
“We hereby inform you that under the Merger Cooperation Agreement dated December 22, 2021, entered into amongst the Company, BEPL and CMEPL, the Company has requested CMEPL and BEPL to extend the Date required to make the Scheme effective, as per the terms of the Merger Cooperation Agreement,” ZEEL said.
CMEPL is an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation (SGC). BEPL is also an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of SGC and a part of the SGC Group. The proposed $10-billion merger of ZEEL, BEPL and CMEPL has received regulatory approvals from fair trade regulator CCI, bourses NSE and BSE, shareholders and creditors of the company.
In August this year, the Mumbai bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) also gave a go-ahead to the merger of ZEEL and Culver Max Entertainment. Earlier in September 2021, then Sony Pictures Networks India (SPNI) and ZEEL had entered into a non-binding term sheet to bring together their linear networks, digital assets, production operations and programme libraries.