ZEEL, IndusInd Bank settle dispute paving way for Sony-Zee merger

Zee Entertainment on Wednesday informed the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) that it has settled the dispute over dues with the private lender IndusInd Bank. It said that as a result, the bank’s plea objecting to the merger of ZEEL and Sony has been withdrawn.

On February 22, the Mumbai bench of the NCLT had admitted the bank’s insolvency plea against ZEEL. The problem originates from a default of Rs 89 crore by Siti Networks, a division of the Zee Group, which was asserted by the IndusInd Bank and for which ZEEL served as a guarantee. The bank then filed an insolvency petition against Siti Networks.

In its order, NCLT allowed IndusInd Bank to admit the company under Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP). It also appointed Sanjeev Kumar Jalan as the interim resolution professional.
Sony and Zee had signed a merger deal in 2021.

Punit Goenka, CEO of ZEEL, had appealed the NCLT’s decision to allow IndusInd Bank to file for insolvency proceedings against Zee.
Last month, NCLAT had halted the insolvency proceedings against the company.

The lawyers of ZEEL told NCLAT that the Sony deal has received all the necessary approvals.