Zee Entertainment limited on Tuesday announced that it has entered into a settlement agreement with Culver Max Entertainment Private Limited (CMEPL) (formerly Sony India) and Bangla Entertainment Private Limited (BEPL) to settle all disputes including to withdraw all applications, claims before Singapore International Arbitration Centre.
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Zee shares soared 8%, trading at Rs 146.75 as on 2.37 PM on August 27.
As per the information given to exchanges, the companies will withdraw the respective Composite Schemes of Arrangement from the NCLT and inform the relevant regulatory authorities, terminating the $10 billion deal.
Further, the entertainment giants have agreed to relinquish all rights to file claims, counterclaims against each other in relation to and arising out of the Transaction Documents, including their termination and implementation.
The settlement also includes withdrawing all claims for the $90 million termination fee, damages, litigation and other costs incurred, and all claims for costs of disposition hive-off, spin-off, winding-up, liquidation, closure of business and or any other assets.
Earlier in April, Zee Entertainment Limited (ZEE) had announced that it has decided to withdraw the merger implementation application filed National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), Mumbai bench against Culver Max Entertainment (Sony).
The Puneet Goenka-led company had also said that the decision will allow it “to continue to aggressively pursue” all of its claims against Sony in the course of the ongoing arbitration proceedings at the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) and in other forums.
The Zee-Sony merger
On August 10, 2023, the Mumbai bench of the NCLT approved ZEEL’s plan to merge with BEPL and Culver Max Entertainment, two Sony group companies. This merger could have resulted in the creation of a media company valued at USD 10 billion.
The merger was called off by Sony on January 22. Zee’s inability to meet certain financial terms of the agreement and devise a strategy to rectify them contributed to the decision to make the change. In response to the accusations, Zed said that the Japanese company had acted in “bad faith” when it called off the merger.
The largest entertainment network in the nation would have been created if the Sony-Zee merger had gone through, owning over 70 TV channels, two video streaming services (ZEE5 and Sony LIV), and two movie studios (Zed Studios and Sony Pictures Films India).
