‘Sign from the Lord': Zee's Punit Goenka after Sony terminates merger deal

‘Sign from the Lord’: Zee’s Punit Goenka after Sony terminates merger deal

Zee Entertainment Enterprises (Zee) Managing Director and CEO Punit Goenka confirmed on Monday that the media giant’s merger deal with Sony’s India unit has been scrapped.

Goenka, who arrived in Ayodhya earlier in the day for the inauguration of the Ram Mandir, made the announcement on social media platform X, adding that he believes this to be a “sign from the Lord”.

“As I arrived at Ayodhya early this morning for the auspicious occasion of Pran Pratishtha, I received a message that the deal that I have spent 2 years envisioning and working towards had fallen through, despite my best and most honest efforts,” he said.

“I believe this to be a sign from the Lord. I resolve to move ahead positively and work towards strengthening Bharat’s pioneering M&E Company, for all its stakeholders,” he added.

Earlier in the day, a media report indicated that Sony called off the merger deal with Zee over unmet demands as per the 2021 agreement. It noted that Sony had sent a termination letter to inform Zee

Sony had also raised concerns over regulatory and governance issues, citing the action initiated by market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) against Punit Goenka.

A formal announcement about the failure of the merger deal is likely to be made soon, according to the Bloomberg report.

Following the lapse of a 30-day grace period over the weekend, Sony issued a termination notice, marking the end of prolonged negotiations with Zee regarding their proposed merger.

Despite the deadline set in late December, the two parties failed to reach a consensus, and currently, no official statements have been released by either side regarding the termination of the merger deal.

Sony’s decision to abandon the merger, citing an unresolved leadership dispute, was made earlier this month. Despite Zee indicating ongoing negotiations to salvage the deal, the termination notice strongly implies that the merger will not proceed.

The response from Zee to Sony’s termination letter, expected tomorrow, remains uncertain. However, there is speculation that the media giant might consider legal action to claim damages resulting from the failed merger deal.

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