NEW DELHI: Shares of ZEE Entertainment Enterprises (ZEEL) surged around 12 per cent on Tuesday after the company and Sony Pictures Networks India settled a six-month-old dispute over a failed $10 billion merger.
The stock closed 11.45 per cent higher at Rs 150.85 per share on the BSE, after climbing 14.25 per cent intraday to Rs 154.65.
On the NSE, the company’s shares rose 11.61 per cent to Rs 150.90 per share.
The company’s market capitalisation rose by Rs 1,488.81 crore to Rs 14,489.44 crore.
ZEEL and Sony Pictures Networks India on Tuesday said they have agreed to settle a six-month-old dispute related to their failed $10 billion merger and drop all claims against each other.
As part of the “comprehensive non-cash settlement” between ZEEL and Culver Max Entertainment Ltd (CMEPL), the two companies “have mutually agreed to withdraw all claims against each other in the ongoing arbitration before SIAC and all related legal proceedings initiated before NCLT and other forums,” they said in a joint statement.
“The companies will also withdraw their respective composite schemes of arrangement from the NCLT and will notify the concerned regulators,” it said.
ZEE and Sony had sought a termination fee of $90 million (approximately Rs 7,487 crore) from each other for failing to comply with the Merger Cooperation Agreement (MCA) signed in December 2021.
Sony filed a lawsuit at the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) just two days after the deal closed, initiating arbitration proceedings against ZEEL for failing to comply with the merger conditions and seeking a termination fee of $90 million.
ZEEL challenged this before SIAC, which denied interim relief to the Sony group over Indian broadcasters.
ZEEL had also filed a petition in the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) seeking implementation of the proposed merger but later withdrew the petition.
Later in May, ZEEL issued a letter dated May 23, 2024, lifting the MCA and seeking a termination fee of $90 million from two Sony Group companies — Sony Pictures Networks India (SPNI), now known as CulverMax Entertainment, and Bangla Entertainment (BEPL).
Under the terms of the settlement, the parties will have no “outstanding or continuing obligations or liabilities” to the other, according to the joint statement.
Published on August 27, 2024 at 12:07 IST