Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd on Wednesday stated it’s working in the direction of the profitable closure of the proposed merger with Culver Max Entertainment (earlier often known as Sony Pictures Networks India). The firm additionally refuted a media report that the USD 10 billion merger, which might create the most important leisure community in India, dangers collapse over who would turn out to be CEO of the merged entity as “factually incorrect”. “We wish to reiterate that the company is continuing to work towards a successful closure of the proposed merger as per the composite scheme of arrangement approved by the NCLT, Mumbai Bench,” Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL) stated in a regulatory submitting.

In August this 12 months, the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) allowed the merger of ZEEL and Culver Max Entertainment.

ZEEL was responding to clarification sought by BSE over the media report which said that the proposed merger dangers a collapse until the 2 sides can agree on who’ll lead the merged entity and provides the ultimate touches to the deal.

The firm, nevertheless, didn’t specify any timelines. It has been nearly two years for the reason that merger deal was introduced.

E-mails despatched to Sony in search of feedback on the way forward for the proposed merger remained unanswered.

However, in June this 12 months, Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) had said that it could proceed to watch developments which will have an effect on the merger deal between its Indian arm and ZEEL.

This adopted an interim order by Sebi barring Essel Group chairman Subhash Chandra and Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd MD and CEO Punit Goenka from holding the place of a director or key managerial personnel in any listed firm. The market regulator took motion after they had been discovered diverting funds from the corporate.

Chandra and Goenka moved the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) difficult the Sebi interim order. In October, SAT quashed the Sebi interim order.

In September 2021, then Sony Pictures Networks India (SPNI) and ZEEL had entered right into a non-binding time period sheet to convey collectively their linear networks, digital belongings, manufacturing operations and programme libraries. The mixed entity will personal over 70 TV channels, two video streaming companies (ZEE5 and Sony LIV) and two movie studios (Zee Studios and Sony Pictures Films India), making it the most important leisure community in India.

Subsequently, the 2 events signed a definitive settlement for his or her merger in December 2022. As per the settlement, ZEEL’s chief government Punit Goenka was to steer the mixed firm as its Managing Director & CEO. The majority of the board of administrators of the mixed entity could be nominated by the Sony Group and embody the present SPNI Managing Director and CEO, NP Singh.

However, questions over the way forward for the merger arose after Sebi’s actions towards Chandra and Goenka for siphoning off funds of ZEEL.

The proposed merger has already been authorised by the shareholders of ZEEL and sectoral regulators, together with the Competition Commission of India.