Sony, ZEEL hope to close merger by November
Sony Group Corp's India unit and Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL) expect to close the pending merger deal — billed as one of the biggest in the country's media industry — as early as next month, multiple people familiar with the progress of the proposed transaction told ET.
One of the sources said that despite financial institutions and lenders such as Axis Finance and IDBI having appealed the National Company Law Tribunal's (NCLT) decision approving the merger scheme before the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT), the union could still happen by as early as the first half of November.
Another source said the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), which was tasked with completing the integration process, is working overtime to complete the responsibilities associated with the merger.
«Our aim is to finish the merger by early November. The teams on both sides are working incredibly hard to finish the merger-related formalities,» said a senior official, who declined to be named.
Legal & regulatory formalities
Corroborating this information, another source said that the merger is nearing completion, even as a media report suggested that Tokyo-based Sony Group Corp has held exploratory talks with Walt Disney to acquire its India assets due to the delay in completing the merger deal with ZEEL.
«While we are targeting to conclude the merger early next month, there is always a possibility of a delay considering the legal and regulatory formalities that are involved,» said the second executive cited above.
Both Sony and Zee declined to comment.
