Zee Entertainment Enterprises (Zee) on Friday announced a three-member independent advisory committee headed by Satish Chandra, retired judge of the Allahabad High Court, to restore shareholders’ confidence.
The committee will also have Uttam Agarwal and P V Ramana Murthy, independent directors of the company.
“Taking cognisance of widespread circulation of misinformation, market rumours, and speculation that has led to formation of negative public opinion about the company and consequent erosion of investor wealth, the board of directors of the company has constituted an independent advisory committee,” Zee said in a stock exchange filing.
The committee will independently provide guidance on the measures and future course of action that the board is required to take to protect the interests of all stakeholders of the company, Zee said. “The board will seek expert guidance of the committee on the aforementioned matters from time to time,” it added.
Justice (retd) Satish Chandra retired from Allahabad High Court in 2015, after serving as its judge for seven years.
Earlier during the week, reports said that market regulator Sebi has found financial discrepancies in the accounts of the company, although the latter asserted that the reports-related accounting issues are “incorrect and false”.
On Friday, Zee’s shares on BSE closed 3% higher at Rs 173.3, but down 30% ever since Sony decided to scrap the mega merger deal with it for not meeting closing conditions even after extending the closing period by a month.
Sony had initiated arbitration proceedings before The Singapore Arbitration Centre (SIAC) claiming $90 million (around Rs 748.5 crore) as a termination fee.
On the other hand, Zee filed a petition before the Mumbai bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), seeking a direction to Sony Group to implement the merger scheme.
SIAC has denied Sony Group’s plea seeking interim relief against Zee to restrain it from moving NCLT to enforce the failed merger of its subsidiary Culver Max with the Indian firm.
