Sony Issues Letter To Zee To Terminate India Merger

(RTTNews) - Japanese conglomerate Sony Group Corp. (SON.L, SNE) announced Monday that its unit Sony Pictures Networks India Private Ltd. or SPNI, now known as Culver Max Entertainment Ltd., has issued a notice to terminate the planned merger of Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. or ZEEL.

It was in December 2021 that the companies entered into definitive agreements for the merger of ZEEL with and into SPNI.

As per the agreements, if the merger did not close by the date twenty-four months after their signature date, an extension of the end date was required to make the merger effective by a reasonable period of time. The parties were needed to discuss for a period ending thirty days after the end date.

It was also agreed that if the parties were unable to agree upon such an extension by the end of the discussion period, any party could terminate the deals by providing written notice.

Sony now said that the merger did not close by the end date as, among other things, the closing conditions to the merger were not satisfied by then.

"SPNI has been engaged in discussions in good faith to extend the End Date but the Discussion Period has expired without an agreement upon an extension of the End Date," it said.

As a result, SPNI issued a notice to ZEEL terminating the definitive agreements.

Sony said it has not included the impact of the merger in its consolidated financial results forecast for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2024.