The $10 billion merger deal between India's Zee Entertainment and Japan's Sony Group was cancelled on January 22. The Indian business daily Economic Times reported on Tuesday, citing persons with knowledge of the situation, that Zee Entertainment is making a last-ditch effort to resume talks.
Both sides' representatives have been trying to save the transaction, and for the last two weeks, efforts to bring the merger back have gathered steam, according to the report.
It said that since there are still a lot of unanswered questions and both sides are adamant about their stances, there's a danger the talks won't succeed.
In an exchange filing, Zed denied having any involvement in these conversations.
There were no comments available from Sony on the issue.
Due to unresolved "closing conditions" and leadership conflicts, notably differences on CEO Punit Goenka's involvement in regulatory matters, Sony terminated its merger with Zee.
According to the newspaper, Zed is supposed to inform Sony in the next 24 to 48 hours if it is willing to accept all terms and conditions and move forward with the merger.
If not, Sony is anticipated to withdraw, as agreed upon when the combination was first suggested, its initial merger application from the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) by this coming Friday.
After two years of planning, the Zee-Sony merger would have produced an Indian television behemoth with over 90 channels covering news, sports, and entertainment. It would have faced competition from the likes of Walt Disney and billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries.
(Source:www.reuters.com)
Both sides' representatives have been trying to save the transaction, and for the last two weeks, efforts to bring the merger back have gathered steam, according to the report.
It said that since there are still a lot of unanswered questions and both sides are adamant about their stances, there's a danger the talks won't succeed.
In an exchange filing, Zed denied having any involvement in these conversations.
There were no comments available from Sony on the issue.
Due to unresolved "closing conditions" and leadership conflicts, notably differences on CEO Punit Goenka's involvement in regulatory matters, Sony terminated its merger with Zee.
According to the newspaper, Zed is supposed to inform Sony in the next 24 to 48 hours if it is willing to accept all terms and conditions and move forward with the merger.
If not, Sony is anticipated to withdraw, as agreed upon when the combination was first suggested, its initial merger application from the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) by this coming Friday.
After two years of planning, the Zee-Sony merger would have produced an Indian television behemoth with over 90 channels covering news, sports, and entertainment. It would have faced competition from the likes of Walt Disney and billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries.
(Source:www.reuters.com)
