In response to National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) order admitting the insolvency petition of IndusInd Bank, the MD & CEO of Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL), Punit Goenka had filed an appeal in the NCLT seeking relief against the order passed by its Mumbai bench.
A statement from the Office of Punit Goenka read, “Punit Goenka has filed an appeal in the Hon’ble National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) today, seeking relief against the order passed by the Mumbai bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT).”
“Goenka is taking all the necessary steps as per law, to protect the interests of all stakeholders of Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. (ZEE) and to achieve a timely completion of the proposed merger with Culver Max Entertainment Pvt. Ltd. Goenka firmly believes in the potential of the merger, to deliver immense value to all stakeholders. ZEE is a debt-free & financially strong company, and believes in value creation for its stakeholders.” added the statement.
The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (IBC) bars any transfer of assets, once a company is admitted to insolvency, this aspect becomes a deal breaker between Zee and Sony merger. However, industry sources reveal that the Sony-Zee merged company is well aware of the repercussions and prepared to face the outcome.
Zee in its appeal to NCLT might offer to treat the dues of IndusInd Bank as a liability in the merged entity or else might propose to settle the dues in worst case scenario to ensure smooth progress of the merger deal.
IndusInd Bank plea filed in February 2022 claimed a default of Rs 83.08 Cr.
Initially the share price that opened at Rs 196 dropped by 14% to Rs 176, however bounced back toward the end of the day to reach Rs 199.
