Indian business newspaper Economic Times said on Tuesday, citing persons informed with the situation, that Zee Entertainment is making a last-ditch effort to resurrect talks with Japan’s Sony Group to restore their $10 billion (approximately Rs. 83,098 crore) merger deal, which was shelved on January 22.
The article also stated that representatives from both sides have been trying to save the contract, with the last two weeks seeing a growth in their efforts.
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.
When Reuters reached out to Zee and Sony for comment, they did not immediately respond.
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, Zee 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.
The two-year-old Zee-Sony merger would have produced an Indian television behemoth with over 90 channels covering sports, entertainment, and news, competing with the likes of Walt Disney and Reliance Industries, the billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s company.
Zee’s stock increased 5.2% in the first hour of trading on Tuesday.