Sony Group’s Indian subsidiary Culver Max has challenged the maintainability of Zee Entertainment’s plea on merger enforcement before the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) Mumbai. The NCLT will hear Sony’s plea and other applications regarding the Sony-Zee merger case on March 12, media reports said on Friday.
In response to Sony’s plea, the Mumbai bench of the NCLT has issued a notice to Zee, seeking a response. The development has come amid reports that the Sony Group has formally withdrawn its papers filed with the NCLT for the merger of its business with Zee.
The Japanese firm made multiple filings to the NCLT to exit the merger pact with Zee, Bloomberg said on Thursday. Sony had terminated its deal with Zee to build a $10 billion media giant due to unresolved “closing conditions”, it said on January 22.
The collapse of one of India’s biggest media mergers has been followed by the announcement of a mega deal between Reliance Industries and The Walt Disney Company this week.
The two companies announced a merger of their India media businesses on Wednesday, creating a $8.5-billion major that will be structured as a joint venture. It will be the largest broadcasting and digital company in the country. The Reliance-Disney combine is also expected to impact the business of Sony, Zee, and other industry players, experts said.
