Sony Pictures said that it takes “very seriously” the interim order issued by markets regulator SEBI against Zee Entertainment’s Chairman Emeritus Subhash Chandra and Managing Director and CEO Punit Goenka and that it would continue to keep an eye on any events that might have an impact on their merger agreement.
Img source: Money control
A media story that suggested Sony will uphold the agreement in spite of an interim ruling from the SEBI prompted the release of the statement.
Sony Pictures said that it takes “very seriously” the interim order issued by markets regulator SEBI against Zee Entertainment‘s Chairman Emeritus Subhash Chandra and Managing Director and CEO Punit Goenka and that it would continue to keep an eye on any events that might have an impact on their merger agreement.
A media story that suggested Sony will uphold the agreement in spite of an interim ruling from the SEBI prompted the release of the statement.
As a result of the markets regulator’s decision to prevent Essel Group Chairman Subash Chandra and his son Punit Goenka from serving as directors or other key managerial personnel in any publicly traded company, as well as their alleged involvement in siphoning off money from the media company, the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) on Friday declined to grant them any temporary relief.
The SEBI order was then contested by Zee Entertainment Enterprises at SAT.
The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) hearing on the potential merger of ZEEL and Sony Pictures Networks India will also take place on June 26.
The attorney for Zee Entertainment Enterprises argued that Sebi cannot issue an ex-parte order and that the market regulator only possessed bank statements to support the claims of round-tripping of monies.
According to the attorney, Zee Entertainment Enterprises requested a stay of the Sebi ruling.
According to a BofA report, the SEBI interim ruling against Zee promoters puts the Sony acquisition at peril.
“It is still unclear how the merger would proceed and whether or not Zee promoters will ultimately face sanctions. The likelihood of the Sony merger happening has grown riskier, though. Also undetermined is whether Goenka would be qualified to serve as the joint entity’s CEO, the statement continued.
The merger of Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEE) and Sony was approved by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) in October 2022.
To protect management, investors, and other stakeholders, SEBI has requested immediate action against the promoters in the issue of suspected money diversion in its response to the Securities and Appellate Tribunal (SAT).
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) stated in its affidavit that the chairman’s petitions.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) stated in its affidavit that the statements made on July 6, 2022, by Chairman Emeritus Subhash Chandra and Managing Director and CEO Punit Goenka, that “there was no immediate need and that the same issue is the subject matter of the show cause notice dated July 6, 2022, is completely false and misleading.” Additionally, “not only have there been violations, but there have been numerous false disclosures issued and statements submitted to conceal such wrongdoings,” according to SEBI.
