NEW DELHI: Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL) has denied the reports that said the company is trying to revive merger talks with Sony Group. Shares of Zee Entertainment on Tuesday rose 6.67% to close at `190.4 after a section of media reported that the two groups are again trying to revive the merger talks.
In an exchange filing, ZEEL said it has not involved in any negotiations, or any other event as stated in the media reports, and that it confirms that the such reports are factually incorrect. “We wish to clarify that the company is not aware of any information that has not been announced to the exchanges which could explain the aforesaid movement in the trading, and we are not in a position to determine the material impact of the above-mentioned article on the company,” it said in a statement.
Over two years after it was first announced, Sony Pictures Networks India (SPNI) (now known as Culver Max Entertainment Limited), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation (Sony) decided to terminate its merger with ZEEL on 22 January 2024.
The merger talks failed over the issue of leadership of the merged entity. As per the merger agreement, Punit Goenka, MD & CEO of ZEEL, was supposed to head the merged entity. However, Sony had second thoughts after Sebi initiated fund diversion probe against Goenka.
Zee had, however, claimed that Punit Goenka, MD & CEO of ZEEL, was agreeable to step down in the interest of the merger and proposals in this regard were discussed, including for appointment of a director on the Board of the merged company, protections for conduct of pending investigations and legal proceedings in the best interest of ZEEL’s directors and shareholders and the consequent modifications to the scheme to incorporate the same.