Zee Entertainment share price jumps 6% on merger deadline extension

livemint.com:

Zee Entertainment Enterprises share price jumped 6 per cent in early trade on BSE on Thursday, December 21, a day after the company in an exchange filing signalled that Sony Pictures Entertainment and Zee Entertainment Enterprises will give themselves some more time for the proposed merger. "The company is now in receipt of a communication from Sony Pictures Networks India Private Limited (CMEPL) and Bangla Entertainment Private Limited (BEPL) that they will enter into good faith negotiations as required under the Merger Cooperation Agreement (MCA) entered amongst the parties, the company, CMEPL and BEPL, to discuss the extension of the date required to make the scheme effective by a reasonable period," said Zee in a BSE filing on Wednesday, December 20.

Zee share price opened at ₹258.45 against the previous close of ₹251.80 and soon jumped 6 per cent to the level of ₹266.95. The stock, however, cooled off and traded 4.23 per cent higher at ₹262.45 around 9:40 am.

Zee share price has been lacklustre this year so far, gaining just about 5 per cent as of December 20 close. Equity benchmark Sensex has gained about 16 per cent this year so far.

Also Read: Zee seeks time on Sony deal as two directors voted out As Mint reported earlier, "facing a Thursday deadline to complete their $10-billion mega-merger, Sony Pictures Entertainment and Zee Entertainment Enterprises have chosen to give themselves some more time, two persons directly aware of the matter said. The development comes after Sony and Zee failed to find common ground despite protracted discussions, securing regulatory approvals, and spending over ₹300 crore in merger-related expenses." An agreement between Sony’s India business (Culver Max Entertainment Pvt.