Zee Denies Media Report On Reviving $10 Bln Merger Deal With Sony

Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. denied a media report about company attempting to revive the $10 billion scrapped merger deal with Sony Group’s Indian units.

The company is not involved in any negotiations, or any other event as stated in the media article, Zee said in a stock exchange announcement. “We categorically confirm that the above-mentioned news item is factually incorrect,” it added.

Sony and Zee are in a legal battle after the Japanese conglomerate’s units -- Culver Max Entertainment Private Ltd. (formerly known as Sony Pictures Networks India Private Ltd.) and Bangla Entertainment Private Ltd. -- scrapped their proposed merger with the Indian media and entertainment company in January 2024.

Culver Max and Bangla Entertainment also invoked the arbitration clause and sought a termination fee of $90 million from Zee alleging the company breached the terms of the agreement signed in December 2021.

Following this, Zee also initiated legal proceedings to contest against Sony's claims in Singapore as well as approached India’s National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) to implement the scrapped merger deal.

Earlier this month, Sony failed to get an interim relief from the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) in the legal fight against Zee in the scrapped merger deal.

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