If reports and grapevine are to be believed, the Sony group may call off the planned merger of its India unit with Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. Should that happen, the efforts of two years on both the sides, to see the merger agreement through to create a $10-billion media giant, may go down the drain.
It is reported that the Japanese conglomerate is looking to cancel the deal due to disagreement over whether Zee’s CEO, Punit Goenka, would head the merged entity. While the merger agreement, signed in 2021, provides that Punit would lead the merged company, Sony no longer wants him as the head because of a regulatory probe against him. Punit Goenka is particular that he would head the merged company, as agreed initially.
If reports are true, Sony plans to file the termination notice before the January 20 extended deadline for closing the deal, on the ground that some of the conditions necessary for the merger had not been fulfilled.
Of course, according to the same reports, discussions are ongoing between the two sides, and a resolution can still emerge before the deadline. If the deal is called off, it would ne interesting to watch what happens in its aftermath because simultaneously, Mukesh Ambani is looking to bolster the media plans of Reliance Industries by negotiating a merger with Walt Disney’s India unit.