‘Closing conditions not satisfied’: Sony calls off Zee merger

Sony Pictures Entertainment has reportedly called off the $10 billion merger with Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd.

In a notice to ZEEL the company said, “Culver Max Entertainment (CME) today issued notice to Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. (ZEEL) terminating the agreement dated December 22, 2021, to merge ZEEL and CME. Although we engaged in good faith discussions to extend the end date under the merger cooperation agreement, we were unable to agree upon an extension by the January 21 deadline. After more than two years of negotiations, we are extremely disappointed that closing conditions to the merger were not satisfied by the end dates,” the company said in a statement.

The move follows a stalemate over whether Zee’s Chief Executive Officer Punit Goenka would lead the merged entity amid an investigation into his conduct by India’s capital markets regulator. 

Zee had last year reportedly written to the Securities and Exchange Board of India that “continuous and repetitive” investigations – in a case pertaining to an alleged Yes Bank fund diversion – might impact its merger with Sony.

Zee is now more vulnerable amid rising challenges in the entertainment space. The merger would have created a media giant big enough to take on powerhouses such as Netflix and Amazon.

This report was written and published with AI assistance.