Shares of media companies, including broadcasting & cable TV operators, rallied at the bourses by up to 31 per cent after the board of directors of ZEE Entertainment Enterprises (ZEEL) unanimously provided an in-principle approval for the merger of Sony Pictures Networks India (SPNI) & ZEEL.

The Nifty Media index jumped 13.57 per cent on Wednesday, as compared to a 0.087 per cent fall in the Nifty50.

While ZEEL zoomed 31.86 per cent to hit its 52-week high of ~337.10 at the BSE, shares of its sister companies were in the green. This rubbed off on other media stocks, too, with the likes of NDTV, TV18 Broadcast, and Balaji Telefilms gaining 10 per cent, 6.5 per cent and 6.3 per cent, respectively.

The shares of NDTV were locked in the 10 per cent upper circuit band for the third straight day, at ~96.4, amid rumour of a buyout by Adani Group. The stock is trading at its 52-week high level and rallied 33 per cent in past three trading days. This despite the founder-promoters, Radhika and Prannoy Roy, stating that they are not in discussions now, nor have been, with any entity for a change in ownership or divestment of their stake in NDTV.

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