Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, Bank of America buy Zee Entertainment shares in bulk

At a time when Zee Entertainment Enterprises is in the midst of a corporate governance tussle with two institutional investors who are seeking removal of company's MD and CEO Punit Goenka, well-known investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala on Tuesday bought 50 lakh shares of the company in a bulk deal worth Rs 110.22 crore.  

The bulk deal was executed on the National Stock Exchange (NSE). According to information available on NSE website, the shares were bought through Jhunjhunwala's investment company Rare Enterprises. The shares were bought at a price of Rs 220.44 per equity share.

Apart from Jhunjhunwala, Bank of America Securities Europe SA also bought 48.7 lakh shares at Rs 236.2 apiece in a bulk deal worth nearly Rs 115 crore.

Also Read: Two Zee Ent institutional investors seek removal of Punit Goenka as director

Incidentally, Bank of America already has a stake of 1.03 per cent in the company, as per the shareholding pattern for June 2021 quarter. The name of Rakesh Jhunjhunwala or Rare Enterprises does not figure in the shareholding pattern filed with the exchanges which includes the names of only those entities that own more than 1 per cent stake in the company.

Zee Entertainment Enterprises already has well-known institutional investors as its shareholders, including some marquee names like Vanguard, HSBC, Schroder, Invesco, Government Pension Fund and City of New York Group Trust, among others.  

A total of 306 foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) hold a collective stake of 57.46 per cent in the company. Further, 18 mutual fund schemes have a combined stake of 8.10 per cent in the listed entity. There are 16 insurance companies as well, including LIC, SBI Life Insurance and HDFC Life Insurance, with a total stake of 10 per cent.

Shares of Zee Entertainment Enterprises were the top gainers on BSE on Tuesday with the stock surging 40 per cent to close at Rs 261.50. During intra-day trades, the counter touched a new 52-week high of Rs 270.85.

Also Read: Boardroom potboiler at Zee: Can beleaguered MD Punit Goenka stave off shareholders demanding his exit?