MUMBAI: The high profile merger deal between Zee Entertainment and Sony group’s India arm is likeLy to be completed in the coming month. The merger had been announced in December 2021 but went into a legal loop after financial lenders and institutions challenged the National Company Law Tribunal’s (NCLT) decision approving the merger scheme before the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT).
A report in The Economic Times said that this much-anticipated deal is likeLy to be completed in November, though last month the Sony group had said the merger could take a few more months. The deal is one of the largest in this space bringing together over 70 TV channels, two video streaming services (Zee5 and SonyLiv) and two film studios (Zee Studios and Sony Pictures Films India).
The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) approved the Zee-Sony merger on August 10, 2023, despite objections from various creditors. Financial institutions and lenders, including Axis Finance, IDBI Trusteeship, and JC Flowers Asset Reconstruction Co, had raised concerns about the merger. However, the NCLAT refused to issue a notice in the appeals filed by Axis Finance and IDBI Bank challenging the NCLT’s approval of the merger.
