'I'm considering criminal case against Sony': Subhash Chandra on failed Zee deal
Zee's tiff with Sony started soon after Sebi in June said that Goenka and his father, Chandra, had “abused their position” and siphoned off funds “for their own benefit.”
- Jan 29, 2024,
- Updated Jan 29, 2024 7:39 AM IST
Subhash Chandra has questioned Sony's intent behind the now scrapped $10 billion deal despite his firm's offer to have Punit Goenka step aside from the CEO's post.
Chandra accused Sony of intentionally scuttling the deal, threatening criminal action against the firm, the Zee Chairman Emeritus told ET in an interview.
Chandra claimed Zee met all the terms laid out in the deal it was Sony's "strategy all along to engage with Zee and eventually withdraw, portraying Zee as vulnerable".
The tiff started soon after Sebi in June said that Goenka and his father, Chandra, had “abused their position” and siphoned off funds “for their own benefit.”
The regulator barred them from holding any executive or director positions in listed firms while its investigation was underway.
In October, an appellate authority gave partial relief to Goenka from Sebi’s ban, allowing him to hold these positions during the probe.
Zee saw this appellate win as a green-light for Goenka to be CEO of the merged entity, but Sony disagreed.
Goenka reportedly offered to be the interim CEO while a search committee could be instituted to scout for another candidate, but Sony insisted on N.P. Singh, its head of India operations, as CEO.
Chandra in the ET interview panned the charge of siphoning money. "If money had been moved...there would have been a trail", adding that he had repaid close to Rs 40,000 crore to banks.
Chandra told ET that he was confident of a bounce-back. "In 1998-99, an analyst predicted that Zee wouldn't survive in this competitive environment...we not only survived, but also thrived".
Funds managed by Atlanta-based Invesco Ltd., once Zee’s biggest shareholder with an 18% stake, had also waged a fight in 2021 to remove Goenka from the board and as CEO, saying the company’s founders were enriching themselves at the expense of ordinary shareholders. Ironically, Sony was Zee’s white knight then and its merger deal helped calm down Invesco.
Subhash Chandra has questioned Sony's intent behind the now scrapped $10 billion deal despite his firm's offer to have Punit Goenka step aside from the CEO's post.
Chandra accused Sony of intentionally scuttling the deal, threatening criminal action against the firm, the Zee Chairman Emeritus told ET in an interview.
Chandra claimed Zee met all the terms laid out in the deal it was Sony's "strategy all along to engage with Zee and eventually withdraw, portraying Zee as vulnerable".
The tiff started soon after Sebi in June said that Goenka and his father, Chandra, had “abused their position” and siphoned off funds “for their own benefit.”
The regulator barred them from holding any executive or director positions in listed firms while its investigation was underway.
In October, an appellate authority gave partial relief to Goenka from Sebi’s ban, allowing him to hold these positions during the probe.
Zee saw this appellate win as a green-light for Goenka to be CEO of the merged entity, but Sony disagreed.
Goenka reportedly offered to be the interim CEO while a search committee could be instituted to scout for another candidate, but Sony insisted on N.P. Singh, its head of India operations, as CEO.
Chandra in the ET interview panned the charge of siphoning money. "If money had been moved...there would have been a trail", adding that he had repaid close to Rs 40,000 crore to banks.
Chandra told ET that he was confident of a bounce-back. "In 1998-99, an analyst predicted that Zee wouldn't survive in this competitive environment...we not only survived, but also thrived".
Funds managed by Atlanta-based Invesco Ltd., once Zee’s biggest shareholder with an 18% stake, had also waged a fight in 2021 to remove Goenka from the board and as CEO, saying the company’s founders were enriching themselves at the expense of ordinary shareholders. Ironically, Sony was Zee’s white knight then and its merger deal helped calm down Invesco.