Round 1 to Zee as Singapore tribunal decline Sony’s plea

The Singapore International Arbitration Court has denied Sony’s emergency application to restrict Zee from approaching the NCLT.

• Also read:Zee claims ₹700 crore in costs from Sony for fulfilling merger conditions

In its application, Sony had asked the tribunal to prevent Zee from seeking legal remedies from the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) and other legal forums.

The emergency arbitrator, however, said it had no jurisdiction or authority to prevent Zee from approaching the NCLT to implement the merger, since these matters were within the statutory system and were for the NCLT to decide.

The dissolution of the merger agreement has resulted in an ugly legal battle between the two firms. Sony, which issued the termination notice to Zee, has claimed $90 million in damages for the failed merger. Zee has countered that Sony’s termination fee has no basis whatsoever. Zee has also approached the National Company Law Tribunal in Mumbai. businessline reported earlier that Zee will argue at the NCLT that it incurred costs of Rs 700 crore by disinvestment of certain businesses as well as getting other compliances in order to merge with Sony. Moreover, the decision to dissolve the merger was predetermined on Sony’s part, according to Zee.

Senior counsel Harish Salve and Jamal Dwarkadas are representing Sony and Zee at the SAIC, respectively.

Nearly two years after announcing their plans to merge, Sony terminated its merger agreement with Zee. Initially, differences had arisen after Zee head Punit Goenka encountered troubles with the Securities and Exchange Board of India. This prompted Sony to reconsider keeping Goenka at the helm of the merged firm. New disclosures, however, show that the differences between the two sides had been brewing for several months over multiple issues, including Zee’s financial performance.

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