The Board of Directors of Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. (ZEEL) on 1st October rejected the largest shareholders, Invesco Oppenheimer Developing Markets Fund and OFI Global China Fund’s request for an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders to remove Managing Director and CEO Punit Goenka from the company, citing the requisition to be “invalid and illegal”. The rejection has intensified the battle between the two US funds and the Board of Zee.
The Board’s decision came a day after the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) directed it to consider Invesco and OFI’s request to hold an EGM to remove Goenka and appoint multiple independent directors. Since Punit Goenka was an interested party, he did not participate in the Board meeting of 1st October. Zee will submit the Board’s decision as a reply to the petition filed by Invesco in the NCLT which is scheduled to hear the matter on 4th October.