On January 22, after two years of intense negotiations, the $10 billion Zee-Sony merger fell through. Punit Goenka-led Zee have moved industry coourts in India and Singapore to contest Sony’s allegations of breaches as the later also seeks a termination fee of $90 million. It’s a tumultuous time for the company and Zee’s stock has taken a hit. And now it seems Zee Studios has hit pause on new films, as per a Mid-Day report.
But, the two big movies for Zee5 this year, Kangana Ranaut’s ‘Emergency’ and Ajay Devgn’s ‘Maidaan’ are witnessing work moving in full force. Zee5, the OTT platform of Zee, has plans of acquiring more series in regional languages in 2024.
Read More: Punit Goenka addresses Zee employees; ensures no layoffs due to failed merger
The cascading effect of the merger’s demise is apparent. On January 25, Zee Entertainment informed the Walt Disney Company that it does not intend to progress with a $1.4 million deal to purchase the cricket TV rights that it acquired from the U.S firm. In August 2023, Zee informed stock exchanges across India that it had signed a licensing agreement with Disney to obtain International Cricket Council (ICC) TV rights for a period of four years, starting 2024.
Storyboard18 reported earlier that if Zee fails to hold up their end of the deal, Disney Star is likely to take them to court. As per reports, Zee had earlier acquired the ICC TV rights with the expectation that their merger with Sony would be a no-hassle process. As a result, Disney Star would invest the $1.5 billion as growth capital in the newly formed merged company.
Read More: Zee’s $1.4 million dollar ICC TV rights deal with Disney Star falls through
On January 25, in a town hall address to over 3000 ZEE Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. employees, Punit Goenka, MD and CEO, “Nothing can beat the entrepreneurial spirit of ZEE, nothing can distract us from achieving the pole position. There is a reason why global brands are always interested in us. No one can beat an Indian Company from winning India’s heart. ZEE’s most valuable asset is its human capital.”
“We have immense potential to touch newer heights. I firmly believe in this. Everything else is secondary in my view! On the envisaged merger with Sony, all I would like to say is that the Board has taken a note of the communication received from Sony and all the legal options are being evaluated and implemented as per the law of the land,” he added.
Read More: ZEE’s Punit Goenka: Sony ran out of patience