The Competition Commission of India on Tuesday approved with certain conditions the mega-merger deal between media groups Sony and Zee. In a tweet, the watchdog said it has cleared the deal with certain modifications. The proposed merger was announced in September last year. CCI said it has approved the "amalgamation of Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEE) and Bangla Entertainment Private Limited (BEPL) with Culver Max Entertainment Private Limited (CME), with certain modifications".
Even as the corporate battle over Zee Entertainment Enterprises (ZEEL) has reached the Bombay high court, another Essel Group firm - Dish TV India - is gearing up for a legal battle with YES Bank by planning to move the National Company Law Tribunal to appoint six of its nominees on the board of the loss-making company. While Dish TV said YES Bank has acquired 26 per cent stake by invoking the pledged shares of Essel Group promoter, it also said YES Bank must make an open offer to shareholders of the company, according to the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) takeover code. This, as YES Bank is seeking to take control of the company, said Dish TV.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India does not seem to have understood the enormity of what funds have been up to. If Sebi does not crack down on mutual funds using cooked-up credit ratings to hide behind promoter funding, this is bound to grow into a systemic menace, says Debashis Basu.But MFs decided to become lenders without the legal backing to secure themselves, or the skillset to assess lending risk. If Sebi does not crack down on mutual funds using cooked-up credit ratings to hide behind promoter funding, this is bound to grow into a systemic menace, says Debashis Basu.
Why are DIIs holding such a high stake in Zee, which is beset with alleged governance issues? Perhaps they think Zee is a deep-value stock, observes Debashis Basu.
These are the top buyers of the scrapped electoral bonds, the data for which was released by the Election Commission on Thursday.
In terms of market capitalisation, Zee alone has a market cap of Rs 24,000 crore compared to Rs 15,000 crore of the merged Reliance entity.
These businessmen represent the top five firms that have taken loans from the crisis-hit Yes Bank and these debts were either in the red or were stressed, officials said.
Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd on Wednesday said Culver Max Entertainment, formerly known as Sony Pictures Networks India, has agreed to discuss extending the date required to make their merger scheme effective, a day ahead of the deadline. A day after Sony Pictures Networks India (SPNI) stated that it has not yet agreed to a deadline extension requested by Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL) for their proposed $10-billion merger, the Subhash Chandra family-promoted media firm said it has received a communication from Sony group for discussing an extension of the deal which was announced almost two years ago.
It is likely he will rope in an international ATM manufacturer as a strategic partner with equity stake.
Culver Max Entertainment, formerly known as Sony Pictures Networks India (SPNI), has terminated merger agreements with Zee Entertainment, which could have otherwise created a USD 10 billion media enterprise in the country.
Trinamool Congress is the second highest recipient of political donations through electoral bonds.
Says Bhushan-Essel combine, the highest bidder, has withdrawn but latter denies having done so.
The underperformance comes amid liquidity concerns in the non-banking finance companies space and Essel Group default news.
The battle between BCCI's IPL and Essel-backed ICL threatens to shake up the game's biggest global market.
In a landmark deal announced in Mumbai, Star Den Media Services Pvt Ltd and Zee Turner Ltd will form a joint venture to combine distribution of their respective channel bouquets in India.
Zee Entertainment last week witnessed shareholder activism that saw an open call for the ouster of promoters and the incumbent management led by Punit Goenka. Besides, Dish TV also faced a similar call earlier this month. The trouble at Zee Entertainment can be gauged from the fact that this is a unique company wherein the promoters own just 3.99 per cent, but fully control the firm.
In a major relief to media major Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL), the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) on Friday stayed the insolvency proceedings initiated against it earlier this week. Admitting a petition filed by ZEEL Managing Director and chief executive Punit Goenka, the appellate tribunal issued notices to private sector lender IndusInd bank and the interim resolution professional directing them to file a reply in two weeks. NCLAT said the submissions made by both sides need a detailed hearing.
The merger of ZEE Entertainment and Sony has reached an advanced stage of completion, and the issues faced by promoters with Sebi should not become a problem for the company, debarred ZEEL MD Punit Goenka has said in a letter to employees, according to sources. Goenka, who along with his father Subhas Chandra, was denied any interim relief against a Sebi order that barred them from holding the position of director or key managerial post in any listed company, in the letter ZEE Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL) staff asserted that the merger of Culver Max (earlier known as Sony Pictures Networks India) is at a very important juncture. With the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) restricting him from holding a directorial or key managerial position in a listed company, Goenka told the employees that the ZEEL board has constituted an interim committee of senior executives to ensure smooth operations and day-to-day functioning.
At a time the industry is slashing headcount, citing the downturn, direct-to-home (DTH) television service providers are adding employees.
Rs 40 crore already deployed in a residential project in Chennai.
The payment is overdue for the past 10 months, says Zee Turner.
Reliance group chairman Anil Ambani on Thursday appeared before the Enforcement Directorate in Mumbai in connection with a money-laundering probe against Yes Bank promoter Rana Kapoor and others, officials said. The agency is expected to record the statement of Ambani under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. The 60-year-old businessman arrived at the ED office in Ballard Estate around 9.30 am.
The reduction in value of Chandra's assets comes close on the heels of the group's debt burgeoning to over Rs 12,000 crore, much of which he had raised by pledging his shares to banks and mutual funds in his flagship company ZEEL after many of the groups infrastructure bets did not take off.
The Essel group founder, Subhash Chandra has settled 91.2 per cent of his debt with 43 lenders, and the remaining dues are in the process of being paid. "I am happy to report that we have come out of the financial stress situation by settling 91.2% of our total debt to 43 lenders in 110 accounts. "About 88.3% of the amount has been paid, while the remaining 2.9% is in the process of being paid. "We are making all the required efforts to settle the remaining 8.8% of our total debt.
The STAR India-Bennet, Coleman & Company (BCCL) combine, Subhash Chandra's Essel Group and TV 18's HomeShopping 18 are among those who will air home shopping channels in the next couple of months.
In the past month, when the Essel Group started picking up shares of the company, IVRCL's stock has risen 31 per cent, a rare feat in a market where infrastructure stocks have been suffering due to slow movement in projects and high interest burden.
The total buyback value shall not exceed 10 per cent of the paid-up capital and free reserves of the company for the financial year ended March 31, 2011.
ICC confirmed it was investigating the registration of company names which it regarded as of 'concern to the sport of cricket'.
Former Indian Premier League commissioner Lalit Modi on Monday blamed the International Cricket Council and the Board of Control for Cricket in India for scuttling the Indian Cricket League.
If sources are to be believed, Zee group's Indian Cricket League (ICL) will rope Aamir in to promote their league. Apparently, the company has decided that it is important to have a brand name like Aamir associated with the month-long Twenty-20 league matches, which started on March 9.
More asset sales may be only way out, though most of the group companies' ratings have been downgraded and their combined market value is now a fraction of their combined debt.
With a whopping Rs 303.15 crore profit they earned in the year 2007-08, the Indian cricket Board (BCCI) tops the SportzPower Money List rankings for being the most influential sports entity. The rankings have been made on the basis of the entities' financial clout and their influences on sporting arena.
The BCCI warned its players against joining unapproved competitions in a bid to counter the Indian Cricket League being planned for September.
For all those sceptics who wondered whether the Essel Group's Subhash Chandra would be able to pull off a parallel cricket league, a line-up of players and a business plan is already in place.
This move will make Dish TV, an Essel Group company, the first DTH operator to have installed their DTH services in consumer homes, cars, buses, aircraft, cruise liners and on trains. "Dish everywhere is our motto. We aim to provide our DTH services across all platforms, whether moving, flying or stationary," a senior Dish TV executive said. This move is likely to help the company market its services to the potential consumers more effectively.
Trai, consumer groups need to do some homework on the economics of their insistence.
Zeev Leshem, Chief Operating Officer, Fortune online lottery, says the Indian online lottery market is big enough to accommodate at least five operators.\n\n\n\n
Sources said the ICL has signed the 10 players as its plans to field a team from Pakistan in its second tournament in March-April.
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