Published: February 20, 2024, 10:22am ET
Almost a month after closing merger talks with Sony Group, India's Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. may be ready to take another shot at merger talks that have been in the works for two years.
Shares of Indian media giant IN:505537 soared 10% in the Bombay market on Tuesday following a report in the Indian daily Economic Times. Officials said last-ditch efforts to revive negotiations were underway and recent progress had been made.
Sony…
Almost a month after closing merger talks with Sony Group, India's Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. may be ready to take another shot at merger talks that have been in the works for two years.
Stock prices of major Indian media companies
505537
Stocks soared 10% in Bombay on Tuesday following the report in India's daily Economic Times. In it, officials said final efforts to revive negotiations were underway and recent progress had been made.
Sony Pictures Network India Private Ltd. (now known as Culver Max Entertainment Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony)
Sony
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Negotiations with Mr. Gee were terminated in January. In 2021, the two companies announced talks for a $10 billion partnership.
According to media reports, the talks ended because the two companies could not agree on who would lead the new company and Zee's revenue was depressed due to rising streaming costs and a weak advertising market.
Representatives from Sony and Gee have been in talks and progress has been made over the past two weeks, but key differences remain, the Times reported. Gee is expected to notify Sony within 24 to 48 hours whether he accepts the terms of the deal.
Zee's net profit rose 141% in its most recent quarter, giving the Indian company more confidence in its progress, but Sony is concerned about the decline in value that has occurred since the original terms of the deal in late 2021. the report states.
U.S.-listed Sony shares fell 0.7% in early trading Tuesday.
Neither Gee nor Sony representatives could be reached for comment.
