Sony and Zee.
| Photo Credit: REUTERS
Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd on Sunday mentioned the Singapore Arbitration Centre has denied Sony Group’s plea seeking to restrain the Indian media firm from approaching the NCLT to implement a merger that was known as off by the Japanese firm’s Indian arm.
An Emergency Arbitrator of Singapore International Arbitration Centre denied the interim reduction sought by Culver Max and BEPL (Bangla Entertainment Pvt Ltd) to restrain Zee Entertainment Enterprise Ltd (ZEEL), observing it lacks jurisdiction to move such an order, ZEEL acknowledged in a submitting to inventory exchanges.
“We wish to inform that the Emergency Arbitrator has passed an award dated February 4, 2024, denying the application for emergency interim relief filed by Culver Max and BEPL and has determined that the Emergency Arbitrator has no jurisdiction or authority to injunct the Company from approaching the NCLT to implement the Merger Scheme since these are matters which fall within the statutory system and are for the NCLT to decide,” it added.
Pact ‘terminated’
Sony final month terminated the merger settlement with ZEEL to merge its two Indian entities – Culver Max Entertainment (earlier often known as Sony Pictures Network India) and BEPL.
Sony Group Corporation (SGC) had mentioned ZEEL didn’t fulfill the merger situations and initiated arbitration proceedings earlier than SIAC claiming $90mn as a termination price.
ZEEL filed a petition earlier than the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), seeking a route to Sony group to implement the merger scheme.
ZEEL additionally initiated authorized actions to contest the $90 million declare filed by Sony Group earlier than SIAC.
It asserted that Sony Group agency Culver Max and BEPL (Bangla Entertainment Pvt Ltd), which had been to be merged with ZEEL, “are in default of their obligations to give effect to” and implement the scheme of merger that was sanctioned by the NCLT.
‘Breach of pact’
“The company approached the NCLT, Mumbai-bench, inter alia seeking directions to implement the merger scheme,” ZEEL had mentioned in a regulatory filed on January 24, two days after Sony terminated the merger settlement.
The Mumbai bench of NCLT on August 10, 2023, accredited the scheme of merger of ZEEL with Sony group entities Culver Max Entertainment and BEPL, which might have created a $10 billion media entity.
If the Sony-Zee merger is accomplished, the mixed entity would personal over 70 TV channels, two video streaming companies — ZEE5 and Sony LIV — and two movie studios — Zee Studios and Sony Pictures Films India — making it the biggest leisure community within the nation.
