Sony Terminates $10 Billion Merger Deal with Zee Entertainment

Sony ended its deal to merge with Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. (ZEEL) and Culver Max Entertainment Private Limited (CME), which used to be called Sony Pictures Networks India Private Limited, on January 22.

The $10-billion deal, which was signed on December 22, 2021, had trouble meeting the closing conditions by the due date.

sony vs zee

sony vs zee

Negotiations That Failed

Sony and Zee tried to extend the end date of their merger cooperation agreement in good faith, but they were unable to come to a deal by the January 21 deadline.

The firing happened after more than two years of talks, and Sony was upset that the closing conditions weren’t met.

Things that are written in final agreements

The final agreements had a clause that said talks had to start about extending the end date of the merger if it didn’t happen within 24 months of the date the agreements were signed.

However, the ending conditions were not met by the date that was agreed upon, so the agreement could be ended.

Effects on money

Sony made it clear that the firing would not have any effect on its consolidated financial results for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2024.

This is because the company had not predicted the merger’s effect in its November 9, 2023, prediction.