MUMBAI: Punit Goenka, MD & CEO of Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL), Thursday filed an appeal in the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) seeking relief against the order passed by the Mumbai bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) in connection with an insolvency plea filed against the Indian media major.
“Mr. Punit Goenka has filed an appeal in the Hon’ble National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) today, seeking relief against the order passed by the Mumbai bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT). Mr. Goenka is taking all the necessary steps as per law, to protect the interests of all stakeholders of Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. (ZEE) and to achieve a timely completion of the proposed merger with Culver Max Entertainment Pvt. Ltd (aka Sony Pictures Networks India). Mr. Goenka firmly believes in the potential of the merger, to deliver immense value to all stakeholders. ZEE is a debt-free & financially strong company, and believes in value creation for its stakeholders,” read a statement from the company.
The NCLT bench on Wednesday admitted an Indusind Bank plea for insolvency proceedings against ZEE.
The division bench of judicial member H V Subba Rao and technical member Madhu Sinha on Wednesday also appointed Sanjeev Kumar Jalan as the resolution professional in the matter.
The matter pertains to a default of Rs 89 crore by Zee Group’s multisystem operator arm Siti Networks claimed by Indusind Bank, for which ZEEL was a guarantor, PTI reports.
The private sector lender has also filed a separate insolvency petition against Siti Networks at the NCLT.
According to experts the newswire spoke to, the development is bound to create hurdles in the deal, with some opining that the powers of a company board stand superseded with the admission of insolvency plea.
As per the existing bankruptcy laws, ZEEL can settle the dues with the private sector lender, which can help avoid troubles for the merger.
The merger has already received multiple statutory clearances, but some of the lenders are insisting on clearing their dues before moving ahead.
As per reports, Siti, which owes over Rs 850 crore to various lenders, had taken a loan from Indusind Bank where ZEEL was the loan guarantor under the Debt Service Reserve Account Guarantee Agreement.
Earlier, the bank had approached Delhi High Court and filed its plea in the NCLT in February this year.
The ZEEL stock fell 3.35 per cent to close at Rs 199 on the BSE on Thursday.
