Sony planning to call off the merger pact with Zee?
Updated: Jan 8th, 2024
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| Sony Zee merger (img: IANS) |
Sony Group corp is planning to call off the merger pact of its India unit with Zee Entertainment enterprises, capping two years of drama and delay in creating a $10 bn (₹83,118.5 cr) media giant, said people familiar with the matter, as per media reports.
The Japanese conglomerate is looking to cancel the deal due to a standoff over whether Zee’s chief executive officer Punit Goenka, also its founder’s son, would lead the merged entity, the people said, asking not to be named as the information is not public, the reports added.
While the agreement signed in 2021 was that Goenka would lead the new company, Sony no longer wants him as CEO amid a regulatory probe, the people reportedly said.
Sony plans to file the termination notice before a Jan 20 extended deadline for closing the deal, saying some of the conditions necessary for the merger had not been met, one of the people said, as per reports.
Goenka has stood his ground in wanting to helm the merged entity, as agreed initially, over prolonged meetings in the past few weeks, according to another source.
Discussions are still ongoing between the two sides and a resolution can still emerge before the deadline, the reports said.
(Source: IANS)
- Edited for style
