The National Company Law Tribunal has directed Zee-Entertainment Enterprises to convene a meeting of its shareholders to get approval for its proposed merger with Culver Max Entertainment, formerly Sony Pictures Network.
Passing an order, the Mumbai bench of the NCLT had on August 24 directed to call a meeting of the equity shareholders of Zee Entertainment to consider the merger, said a statement from the media major.
"The NCLT Mumbai bench has directed in its order, that a meeting of the Equity Shareholders of Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. be convened and held on Friday, 14th October 2022 for the purpose of considering, and if thought fit, approving the proposed merger of the Company with Culver Max Entertainment Pvt Ltd," said a company spokesperson.
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The NCLT had directed to convene the shareholders' meeting virtually through video conferencing or other audio-visual means for approving the proposed scheme.
The merger, which will create the largest entertainment network in India with a 26 per cent viewership share, is presently before the scrutiny of the fair trade regulator CCI.
According to some media reports last week, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) made some observations about the merger.
Earlier in July, Zee Entertainment had said it has received approval from stock exchanges BSE and NSE for its proposed merger with Culver Max Entertainment.
Last year in December, the two media companies signed definitive agreements for the merger of ZEEL into Sony Pictures Network India (SPNI) following the conclusion of an exclusive negotiation period during which both parties conducted mutual due diligence.
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When the merger deal was announced in September last year, the two networks had stated that Sony would invest USD 1.575 billion and hold a 52.93 per cent stake in the merged entity and Zee the remaining 47.07 per cent.
After closing, the new combined company will be publicly listed in India.
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