“Culver Max and BEPL have failed to comply with their obligations under the MCA. Therefore, the Company has terminated the MCA and called upon Culver Max and BEPL to pay the termination fee i.e. the aggregate amount equal to $90,000,000, in accordance with the MCA,” said the company in the statement.
Earlier, the media firm declared that it has incurred Rs 432 crore in merger-related costs during 2023-24 and 2022-23 on failed media deal with Culver Max Entertainment.
Read More: Zee shelled out Rs 432 crore on failed merger with Sony unit
Culver Max Entertainment had ended its merger agreement with Zee Entertainment on January 22 over leadership issue of the proposed merged entity and unmet closing conditions. The merger deal, which was signed in December 2021, had received all the key clearances from the stock exchanges, the Competition Commission of India and the National Company Law Tribunal.
Soon after the deal was terminted, the Sony unit approached the Singapore International Arbitration Centre, seeking $90 million in termination fees from Zee Entertainment over alleged violations of the merger agreement. In reply to the case by Sony, Zee Entertainment decalred that there won’t be any material adverse impact as both cases were untenable.Zee had, since then, announced a slew of measures to cut costs and reduce losses in its business, including cutting 15% of its workforce.For the quarter ending on March, Zee Entertainment Enterprises reported a net profit of Rs 13.35 crore compared with a loss of Rs 196 crore in the same quarter of last year. Total income in the reporting quarter increased 3% year-on-year to Rs 2,185 core. The same stood at Rs 2,126 crore in the corresponding quarter of previous year.
(with agency inputs)
