SONY CORP’S CEO Kenichiro Yoshida has said that the company is expecting to complete the merger of its Indian broadcasting arm Culver Max Entertainment (aka Sony Pictures Networks India) with Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd in the first half of this fiscal year.
He said this while speaking at Sony’s annual global corporate strategy meeting. The merger of SPN and Zee was announced in 2021. The merger received approval from the CCI in 2022 after a prolonged legal battle with Zee’s shareholders.
However, the merger is likely to face another hurdle as a recent order by the Securities and and Exchange Board of India against one of the companies owned by Essel Group could prevent the merger from getting approved by the National Company Law Tribunal.
The counsel representing the National Stock Exchange and Bombay Stock exchange brought SEBI’s April 25 notice to NCLT’s attention recently.
The senior management at Sony has the following to say on the merger. SPNI CEO and MD, NP Singh, who was also in attendance at the Thursday event, said: “In 2021, we announced a partnership to merge Zee into SPNI, which upon closing, will enable us to expand our content creation and strengthen our connection with diverse communities within India. The closing of the transaction is subject to regulatory approvals.”
