ZEEL rubbishes 'Rs 2,000 crore hole in books' claim; stock under pressure

Shares of Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL) were under severe selling pressure on Wednesday amid the reports of a $240 million, or Rs 2,000 crore 'accounting hole' in the firm's books. ZEEL refuted the reports, calling them incorrect and false.

"Reports and rumours pertaining to accounting issues in the company are incorrect and false. We are in process of providing all comments requested by SEBI and have extended complete co-operation on all aspects," said the article by the Indian daily citing news agency Reuters.

Capital markets watchdog Sebi reportedly found that around Rs 2,000 crore may have been diverted from the media company, roughly ten times higher than its initial estimates. The report suggested that the amount Sebi has found is not final and may change after Sebi reviews the responses from the ZEEL executives.

Shares of Zee Entertainment crashed more than 14 per cent during the trading session on Wednesday to the lows of Rs 165.55. More than 64.67 lakh shares of ZEEL worth 111.30 crore were traded on BSE, while 5.78 crore shares amounting to Rs 994.05 crore exchanged hands on NSE. Shares of ZEEL have plunged about 40 per cent in the year 2024 so far.

In another clarification to the exchange, ZEEL said that it has not been involved in any negotiations, or any other event with Sony Group on merger. "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," it said.

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