On the eve of the January 20 deadline for the merger, Zee Entertainment Enterprises is discussing another deadline extension with Sony.
In a news clarification filed to the exchanges on Friday night, Zee indicated , “We wish to reiterate that the Company is committed to the merger with Sony and is continuing to work towards a successful closure of the proposed merger and is engaging in good faith negotiations with Sony with a view to discuss the extension of the date required to make the Scheme effective, by a reasonable period of time.”
This means that even as January 20 is just a few hours away, the date by which the two firms were set to merge, Zee delisted from the exchanges and then listed as a combined entity — both parties have likely not reached a consensus on the terms of the agreement.
This will be the second deadline extension sought by Zee. The first was sought for the December 20 deadline. Sony agreed to further negotiations at the time.
The bone of contention between the two firms is the future of Zee CEO Punit Goenka in the merged entity. While Goenka wants to continue as the merged firm’s MD and CEO, Sony doesn’t want Goenka in any executive capacity after his troubles with the Securities and Exchanges Board of India.
At 2.40 pm, shares of Zee were trading flat at Rs 234.70 on National Stock Exchange.