ZEE Entertainment shares tank 4%; Sony says looking forward to hearing ZEE’s plan on critical closing conditions

Shares of ZEE Entertainment Enterprises Ltd dropped 4 per cent in Tuesday's trade amid uncertainty over its merger deal with Sony Pictures Networks India, as the media firm sought for an extension of timeline to complete the amalgamation.

In a statement, Sony Pictures Networks India (SPNI) said ZEE’s notice to the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange of India dated December 17 is an acknowledgement that they will not be able to meet the December 21, 2023 deadline to close the SPNI/ZEE merger.

"The notice triggers an existing contractual provision in the deal that allows for both parties to discuss the possibility of extending the deadline. SPNI is required to start those conversations but has not yet agreed to a deadline extension. We look forward to hearing ZEE’s proposals and how they plan to complete the remaining critical closing conditions,” SPNI said.

The stock fell 3.76 per cent to hit a low of Rs 270 on BSE.

Also read: ZEE shares in focus as firm seeks extension of timeline to complete Sony merger

ZEE had earlier asked Bangla Entertainment Private Limited (BEPL) and Culver Max Entertainment Private Limited (formerly known as Sony Pictures Networks India Private Limited) to extend the date required to make the merger scheme effective, as per the terms of the merger cooperation agreement.

"Pursuant to Regulation 30 of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015 (‘LODR Regulations’), we hereby inform you that pursuant to 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," ZEE had informed stock exchanges.

Last week, ZEE suggested that two resolutions on the re-appointment of Sasha Mirchandani and Vivek Mehra as independent directors failed to get requisite majority of votes, as required under Section 149 (10) of the Companies Act, 2013 read with Regulation 25 (2A) of the SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015. ZEE, meanwhile, appointed Venkata Ramana Murthy Pinisetti, Shishir Babubhai Desai and Uttam Prakash Agarwal as Additional Directors in the category of independent directors of the company.

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