Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd., India’s largest listed television network, approved a merger agreement with Sony Group Corp.’s local unit amid a complicated boardroom and courtroom feud between Zee’s founders and its largest shareholder.
Sony Pictures Networks India Pvt. will own a 50.86% stake in the merged entity while Zee’s current holding firm Essel will own 3.99%, according to an exchange filing from Zee Wednesday. Public shareholders will have the remaining 45.15% as part of the definitive agreement. Zee’s board approved the appointment of Punit Goenka, the son of founder Subhash Chandra, as the chief executive officer of the newly created entity, the filing said.
The transaction will help expand Sony’s media business in the world’s second-most populous country where Zee commands 17% of the media and entertainment market. The deal announcement comes three months after Zee and Sony’s non-binding pact was made public on Sept. 22 that escalated a takeover battle between Chandra’s family and Atlanta-based Invesco Developing Markets Fund that owns 18% stake, the largest chunk of equity.
The latest development shows Sony and Chandra are doubling down on their efforts to close this deal. While Chandra is keen to retain his family’s influence on the indebted media firm he founded in 1992, acquiring Zee will give Sony access to its more than 1.3 billion viewers globally, and a vast library of local Indian language content that goes back to the 1990s. Zee’s own streaming platform is also a leader among local players with almost 73 million monthly active users as of end-March.
{{/usCountry}}The latest development shows Sony and Chandra are doubling down on their efforts to close this deal. While Chandra is keen to retain his family’s influence on the indebted media firm he founded in 1992, acquiring Zee will give Sony access to its more than 1.3 billion viewers globally, and a vast library of local Indian language content that goes back to the 1990s. Zee’s own streaming platform is also a leader among local players with almost 73 million monthly active users as of end-March.
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