MUMBAI: In a relief to Zee Entertainment Enterprises (ZEEL), the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) has set aside an order passed by National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) directing stock exchanges to reassess their initial approvals granted for the merger of (Zee) with Sony Pictures Networks India.
On May 11, the NCLT had directed the National Stock Exchange (NSE) and Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) to issue updated no-objection certificates before June 16, 2023.
ZEE moved NCLAT against this order of May 11. Zee had contended that it was not provided adequate opportunity to present its side of the argument. It also submitted that NCLT doesn’t have jurisdiction over issues like non-compete fees.
Sony and ZEE entered into a non-binding term sheet in September 2021 to bring together their digital assets, linear network, production operations and programme libraries. The merger envisaged the Sony Group holding 50.86% of the combined company, the Zee founder around 4%, while the rest will be distributed amongst the shareholders of Zee.
