NCLT gives Sony 3 weeks to respond to Zee's plea for revival of merger deal

The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) on Tuesday accepted a petition by a Zee Entertainment shareholder seeking the merger Japan's Sony, which was called off last week despite regulatory approvals.

The Mumbai bench of NCLT issued a notice on a petition moved by Mad Men Film Ventures, a shareholder of Zee Entertainment Enterprises (ZEEL), directing Sony Pictures Network India, now known as Culver Max, to file a reply within three weeks. Following this, the stock price of Zee rose up to 9% on Tuesday.

At 1445 hours on Tuesday, Zee's scrip on BSE was trading 4.5% higher at Rs 169.05.

Mad Men Film Ventures on Tuesday filed the petition requesting both ZEEL and Sony to implement the merger as it was approved by the NCLT in August 2023.

The tribunal did not agree to the arguments made by the counsel stating that the approval by NCLT was conditional and depended on various conditions, which may be fulfilled or waived off in writing.

NCLT has kept the next date of hearing on this matter on March 12.

Last week, the Sony Group Corp called off the merger with ZEEL following a stalemate over who will lead the merged entity.

This merger could have otherwise created a $10-billion media enterprise in the country.

The deal stipulated that the merger was to be completed before December 21, 2023, including regulatory and other approvals with a grace period of one month to complete the transaction.

With inputs from PTI