Sony Pictures Networks India Private Limited (SPNI) and Zee Entertainment Enterprises (ZEEL) have finalized the deal to merge ZEEL with and into SPNI.

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As part of the deal, the promoters of Zee will get Rs 1,101 crore as part of a non-compete agreement.

The promoters will infuse that money to buy 3.67 crore shares at Rs 300 per share in the merged entity, which will help them maintain their shareholding at 3.99 percent, as they had been owning prior to the merger.

At present, ZEEL equity base comprises 96.05 crore shares. Post the scheme of arrangement, the number of shares in issue will increase to 173.63 crore.

Invesco, the institutional investor opposed to Zee’s deal with Sony had been critical of the non-compete fee in the original proposal.

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“This non-binding agreement gifts a 2 percent equity stake to the promoters of Zee in the guise of a “non-compete," even though the current MD and CEO of Zee will continue to run the proposed merged entity for the next five years,” Invesco had written in an open letter to the Zee management a couple of months back.

(Edited by : Anshul)

First Published:Dec 22, 2021 9:41 AM IST