MUMBAI: The Competition Commission of India (CCI) on Tuesday approved the $10 billion merger of Zee Entertainment Enterprises with Sony Pictures Networks India, while imposing several conditions to prevent Zee-Sony from abusing the merged entity’s dominant market position.
“Commission approves amalgamation of Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEE) and Bangla Entertainment Private Limited (BEPL) with Culver Max Entertainment Private Limited (CME, nee Sony Pictures Networks India), with certain modifications,” CCI said in a tweet.
Sony and Zee announced last year that they will integrate their television stations, film assets, and streaming platforms to build a media and entertainment powerhouse.
The CCI had earlier stated in a 21-page notice that its initial assessment showed the proposed deal will leave the merged business in a “strong position” with roughly 92 channels in India, citing Sony’s global revenue of $86 billion and assets of $211 billion.
CCI observed that the consolidation has the potential to hurt competition by providing “unparalleled bargaining power”.
On Monday media reports surfaced that Zee may exit the Marathi entertainment space in a bid to allay concerns raised by CCI. Zee Marathi is among Zee’s oldest regional channels and has a leading 20-30% of market share in the space.
