THE JHARKHAND STORY DESK
New Delhi, Jan 22: Sony Group has formally ended the $10 billion media merger deal with Zee Entertainment Enterprises, sending a termination letter to conclude the protracted two-year acquisition process, as reported by Bloomberg News.
This comes after a pivotal meeting on Friday, which raised expectations for a final decision on the merger agreement.
Sources state that the Japanese entertainment giant issued Zee a notice of termination earlier in the day, and it is expected that the exchange will soon get a formal disclosure about it.
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Unmet conditions, impasse over leadership
The cancellation of the merger by Sony is linked to the company citing unmet conditions specified in the merger agreement, as outlined in the termination letter accessed by Bloomberg.
Sony’s decision to call off the merger stems from a prolonged deadlock between the two companies, primarily centred on the leadership arrangement for the combined entity.
The point of contention was whether Punit Goenka, the CEO of Zee, would lead the combined business after the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), the country’s market regulator, launched an investigation into his actions.
A $10 billion media conglomerate with the financial heft to compete against international streaming behemoths like Netflix Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. would have been created if the merger had been successful, but it has been effectively halted by this leadership impasse.
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