The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) gave notice on Tuesday on a petition filed by Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL), which seeks to effectuate its proposed merger with television powerhouse Sony. The ZEEL legal team argued that the tribunal had to consider the petition to enforce the merger because the NCLT had approved it.
Following its review of the submissions, the NCLT scheduled a meeting for March 12 and requested that Sony submit its answer within a week.
The Sony- Zee merger
The development comes a day after the Singapore International Arbitration Centre refused Sony's request for temporary relief to prevent Zee from contacting the NCLT. Zee is now able to take legal action in the Indian company court against Sony's Indian subsidiaries, Culver Max Entertainment Pvt and Bangla Entertainment Pvt, thanks to an emergency arbitration in Singapore.
Image Source: Reuters
According to information released by Zee in a filing, Sony attempted to block this move by submitting a last-minute plea to the Singapore arbitration. As a result, the company is now able to pursue enforcement of the merger arrangement between the entities.
"We are not happy with the Singapore International Arbitration Centre's (SIAC) ruling. Sony Pictures Entertainment said in a statement that "this is merely a procedural ruling, deciding only whether Zee Entertainment would be allowed to pursue its application with the NCLT."
"We will keep pursuing SPNI's right to terminate the merger agreement and seek a termination fee and other remedies. We will also forcefully arbitrate the dispute in Singapore before a full SIAC tribunal. We continue to believe that our positions in Singapore and India are strong," it continued.
What caused the rift?
Last month, Sony terminated its agreement with ZEEL to merge its two Indian firms, Culver Max Entertainment (previously Sony Pictures Network India) and BEPL, with the Indian media conglomerate. Sony Group Corporation (SGC) filed for arbitration before SIAC, claiming that ZEEL had not complied with the requirements for the merger and requesting a termination fee of USD 90 million (about ₹748.5 crore).
Image Source: India today
Ⓒ Copyright 2024. All Rights Reserved Powered by Vygr Media.
