The 10-Billion Dollar Question: Sony, Zee Scamper To Make A Deal Happen

In a rather surprising turn of events, as though a chapter from a popular soap-opera Zee Entertainment (ZEEL) and Sony Group Corporation have resumed discussions to revive their USD 10 billion merger, two years after its initial cancellation. Representatives from both companies have convened in Mumbai for meetings, with the aim of resolving crucial differences and finalizing an agreement within the next 48 hours, as reported by the Economic Times.

Deal or No Deal?

The deal that travelled a long distance in time has traversed past a lot of stages, before ending up in a Singapore court, An emergency arbitrator of Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) rejected a plea of Culver Max and BEPL (Bangla Entertainment Pvt Ltd) seeking an order to restrain Zee Entertainment Enterprise Ltd (ZEEL) from approaching any corporate dispute tribunal or NCLT for enforcing the merger that was called off by the Japanese media company's Indian arm.

This is also sighted as a reason behind this latest move, as Sony who expressed disappointment in the Singapore court's ruling, stood liable for a scrutiny from Indian authorities, if Zee were to follow suit, and drag them to the NCLT.

USD 300 million bottleneck

According to reports, these channels have been active for the past one week or so. People familiar with the matter claim, that there are terms, on which an understanding i yet to be arrived at, one of the biggest bottle-neck being The USD 300 million question mark, this concerns a USD 300 million write-off on cricket rights. Sony wants it upfront, while Zee prefers a delay.

After a tumultuous few weeks, it was just a month ago, in January 2024, that Sony officially terminated the deal

The share of Zee also saw a boost, as it traded at 185.15 INR per share, with a 3.73 per cent in fortunes.

(With inputs from various publications)