Report on Zee Sony merger risks collapse incorrect, clarifies Zee Entertainment

Zee Entertainment on Wednesday called the news report captioned “Sony-Zee Merger Risks Collapse Over Eleventh-Hour CEO Drama: Report” "factually incorrect." The report was published by NDTV.

"We wish to reiterate that the Company is continuing to work towards a successful closure of the proposed merger as per the Composite Scheme of Arrangement approved by the Hon’ble NCLT, Mumbai Bench," said the company in a statement.

Bloomberg had reported that Zee is insisting that its Chief Executive Officer Punit Goenka - also its founder's son - will helm the new entity, as agreed in the pact signed in 2021, while Sony is wary of his appointment given a regulatory probe against Goenka, the people added.

"This has created an eleventh-hour tussle in the two-year-old merger plan that has already seen a fair share of drama and delays," said the report.

A Zee representative, without commenting on the leadership issue, said in an emailed response that the company was “actively engaged” toward the timely completion of all prerequisites for the deal, according to the report. Zee had already completed most of them and was in touch with Sony “on a regular basis,” he said.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India, the markets regulator, alleged in June that the Mumbai-based media house faked the recovery of loans to cover private financing deals by its founder, Subhash Chandra. Chandra and his son, Goenka, “abused their position” and siphoned off funds, Sebi said in an interim order.