Zee Entertainment managing director and chief executive officer Punit Goenka has said the company is in “active engagement” with Culver Max Entertainment, previously known as Sony Pictures Networks India (SPNI), on the proposed merger scheme, amid talks of disagreement between the two companies over leading the merged entity, as per a Moneycontrol report.
“We have an active engagement with Sony on various parts of the scheme to be finally implemented after getting all the approvals. We have received the approval of the Mumbai bench of NCLT.
“We are committed that all points in the proposed merger scheme is fully addressed. We recognise the value the merger holds and our focus is on unlocking opportunity for all the shareholders,” Goenka said on November 9 during the September quarter earnings call.
Zee and Culver Max merger was given the greens signal by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) in August but there was an obstacle when Goenka, who was spearheading the plan, had to step down as CEO.
A Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) order restricted him from holding key managerial positions in the company and other firms. While the Sebi order was set aside by the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) on October 30, the tribunal said the order would not come in the way of the broader investigation that the market regulator was conducting.
As per legal experts, Sebi could vmaximize its efforts to carry out a much more in-depth and exhaustive investigation into the matter.
Considering the current scenario, Culver Max has named its executive to head the merged company, according to reports.
During the earnings call, the company’s management revealed it was paying heed to implementation of the merger scheme. “There are some conditions that we need to complete, so we will take few more weeks to complete it,” the management said.
The merger scheme, signed on December 21, 2021, said Goenka would continue as MD and CEO of the merged entity for five years.
However, in June, Goenka said that the merger would be completed “with or without” him as the head. This was after Sebi barred him from the boards of Zee Group firms after it found that Goenka allegedly siphoned off funds from ZEEL to show false recovery of loans.
Zee reported a 5.3 percent decline in its profit after tax (PAT) year-on-year (YoY) at Rs 129.9 crore. The company’s ad revenue also fell 3.3 percent to Rs 979 crore due to a weak ad environment.