The Securities and Appellate Tribunal (SAT) refused to grant an interim stay on market regulator the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI)’s order against Zee Entertainment’s Subhash Chandra and Punit Goenka.
As per media reports, Goenka and Chandra will be filing a reply n SEBI in two weeks on their interim order.
The appellate tribunal had reserved the case for orders on June 27 after hearing both Zee Entertainment Chief Executive Office Punit Goenka and Sebi at length.
On June 12, the SEBI in an ex-parte interim order stopped Essel Group chairman Subhash Chandra and ZEEL Managing Director and CEO Punit Goenka’s from holding any directorship or key managerial positions in listed entities on account of alleged fund diversion.
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On June 15, the SAT refused to grant an interim order in Goenka's favour and directed the marker regulator to file its response to the plea in 48 hours.
Zee and an Indian unit of Japan’s Sony Group announced a merger in 2021 to create a $10 billion TV enterprise, with Goenka set to become the merged entity’s managing director and CEO, but regulatory approvals are still pending.
Sony Pictures Entertainment clarified in June that they took SEBI’s order ‘seriously’ and will monitor developments that may affect its deal with Zee. "We take very seriously the SEBI interim order and will continue to monitor developments that may affect the deal," Sony's statement said.
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The latest ban on Goenka by SEBI has triggered worries about a potential further delay to the Sony deal.
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