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Tag: Punit Goenka

  • ZEE’s MD & CEO inaugurates Breach Candy Hospital’s state-of the-art kidney centre

    ZEE’s MD & CEO inaugurates Breach Candy Hospital’s state-of the-art kidney centre

    Mumbai: As a responsible corporate citizen, ZEE Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEE), in line with its corporate responsibility approach, has inaugurated a kidney centre at Breach Candy Hospital, Mumbai. The Centre was inaugurated by ZEE’s MD & CEO Punit Goenka and Breach Candy Hospital’s CEO, Dr Anirudh Kohli.

    Breach Candy Hospital has expanded its existing healthcare infrastructure facilities by inaugurating a new tower within the current premises in Mumbai, equipped with best-in-class facilities. ZEE has contributed towards building a state-of-the-art kidney centre at the mentioned new tower.

    In line with its CSR policy, approved by the board, the company is committed to enhance the nation’s healthcare infrastructure and the above-mentioned support towards building the state-of-the-art kidney centre, is a yet another strong step in this direction. The kidney centre has been set up with complete medical compliance and in line with the relevant guidelines, equipped with following aspect:

    1   11 Beds to provide periodic best-in-class dialysis services to patients.

    2   State-of-the-art medical facility equipped to serve 12,000 patients per year.

    Commenting on ZEE’s support, Breach Candy Hospital CEO Dr Anirudh Kohli said “We are grateful to ZEE for the invaluable support provided in launching the specialized Kidney Centre that is located in the new tower of the hospital. By combining the hospital’s medical expertise with ZEE’s contribution, we are better positioned to provide comprehensive care to patients suffering from kidney ailments. The collaboration underscores our commitment to delivering exceptional healthcare solutions to our patients.”

    ZEE MD & CEO Punit Goenka said, “In line with our corporate responsibility approach, we are glad to support Breach Candy Hospital with the new state-of-the-art Kidney Centre having best-in-class facilities. Breach Candy Hospital stands at the helm of the medical community in our Country, and it is an honor for ZEE to be able to support this gem in expanding its existing healthcare facilities. We strongly believe that providing communities with advanced medical facilities will enhance the overall healthcare infrastructure of our Nation and improve the lives of countless individuals.”

    As per ZEE’s corporate social responsibility policy, the company maintains a strong emphasis on its key areas of focus viz women empowerment; protection and preservation of arts, crafts, culture, national, heritage & monuments; disaster relief & recovery; integrated rural development & initiatives to improve public health through food quality.

    As a leading content company, ZEE has consistently taken strong steps to enhance the overall healthcare infrastructure of the country.

  • Punit Misra quits as ZEE’s president of content and international markets

    Punit Misra quits as ZEE’s president of content and international markets

    Mumbai: In yet another jolt, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd’s (ZEEL) president of content and international markets Punit Misra has handed over his resignation to the MD & CEO.

    In an official resignation letter addressed to Mr Punit Goenka, Misra wrote, “Please accept my resignation from the services of ZEEL. It has been an incredible seven years and six months of learning, contributing and growing the people and business along with the team, and I am proud of what has been achieved. Thank you for all your support and guidance over these years, without which achieving what has been achieved would not have been possible.”

    He added, “It’s the right time to now move on to the next phase of my professional journey, and I seek your best wishes for the same. I will work out the specifics of the next steps with Animesh, under guidance from you. Thanks once again for all your support through these years.”

    In his role as president, Punit was responsible for overseeing content across ZEE’s television network and its digital platform, ZEE5, on both domestic and global scales. Additionally, he was tasked with managing ZEEL’s international operations, which extended to 190 countries.

     

  • ZEE’s MD & CEO prunes the company’s Technology & Innovation Centre by 50 per cent

    ZEE’s MD & CEO prunes the company’s Technology & Innovation Centre by 50 per cent

    Mumbai: ZEE Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEE), has implemented strategic steps to streamline and overhaul its Technology & Innovation Centre (TIC). Actioned by its MD & CEO, Punit Goenka, the steps are in line with his approach to optimize the resources and arrive at a cost-effective structure to drive continued growth for the company.

    Basis the guidance received from the board during the recently conducted Monthly Management Mentorship (3M) program, the MD & CEO has pruned the TIC’s structure by approximately 50 per cent and streamlined its scope of work. Going forward, the TIC will maintain a sharper focus on enhancing the overall content creation, distribution and monetisation process for the company by utilizing technology-led tools to gain deeper insights into consumer preferences.

    Speaking on this decision, ZEE MD & CEO Punit Goenka said, “We are laser-focused towards creating exceptional content that is rich and engaging for our viewers. We have a huge responsibility on our hands to live up to the expectations of billions of viewers across the globe and we will continue to win their hearts. To achieve this, we need the blend of a creative approach, detailed consumer insights and futuristic technology solutions. The  core  and  streamlined team  at  TIC will now only  focus  on enabling and  empowering us in this process of content creation, distribution and monetization.” A frugal approach, optimal utilization of resources and sharper focus on quality content are the key tenets of the approach undertaken by the Company’s management, under the guidance of its Board, chaired by Mr. R. Gopalan. In line with this approach,  the  Company is consistently taking all the required steps that are best aligned to deliver maximum value to its shareholders.

    The company recently announced the strategic realignment of its revenue vertical, that is now being directly driven by the MD & CEO. The key changes actioned at the TIC are in line with this macro-level strategic approach, with an objective to arrive at a cost-effective structure that is competent and productive enough, to deliver the same level of output towards the Company’s growth.  

    Under the guidance of the board, the MD & CEO is taking concerted efforts to achieve a streamlined structure of the organisation and optimise resource utilization for improved efficiencies, to enable long-term growth.

  • ZEE’s MD & CEO streamlines the company’s technology and data vertical

    ZEE’s MD & CEO streamlines the company’s technology and data vertical

    Mumbai: ZEE Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEE), has announced the strategic changes in the technology and data vertical, implemented by its MD & CEO, Punit Goenka, under the guidance of the company’s board. The MD & CEO has accepted the resignation of Nitin Mittal.

    Amrit Thomas, responsible for data science, Kishore Krishnamurthy, responsible for engineering, Bhushan Kolleri, responsible for product and Vishal Somani, responsible for enterprise and content technology; on an interim basis, will report into president – digital businesses & platforms Amit Goenka.

    Under the guidance of the board and in line with the strategic approach undertaken by the MD & CEO, significant steps are being implemented to build a new lateral structure that lays a sharper emphasis on accountability and results.

    The steps taken by the MD & CEO are aimed towards achieving a cost-effective structure, optimising the resources, and maintaining a sharp focus on quality, enabling continued success for the long-term growth of the company.

  • Kyoorius & ZEE to ‘GiveBack’ 50 per cent entry fees of Kyoorius Creative Awards 2024

    Kyoorius & ZEE to ‘GiveBack’ 50 per cent entry fees of Kyoorius Creative Awards 2024

    Mumbai: The eleventh edition of the Kyoorius Creative Awards, presented by ZEE, is now live and calls on the advertising industry of India to GiveBack.

    Since its inception, the Kyoorius Creative Awards has recognised and rewarded creative excellence in Indian advertising at a global standard. The directive for 2024, is to galvanise the community to GiveBack to the industry that has given them so much.

    To kickstart the initiative, Kyoorius GivesBack. For every entry that does not make it into the First List (i.e. beyond the First Round of judging) at the 2024 Kyoorius Creative Awards, Kyoorius will GiveBack 50 per cent of the entry fee to the entrant.

    A deep dive into the global awards ecosystem revealed that over 75 per cent of all entries in any award show go unrewarded or are literally, rejected in the first round of judging itself. This deters numerous advertising professionals from even entering. This year, Kyoorius will GiveBack to the over 70 per cent.”

    The Kyoorius Creative Awards itself sees only 18 per cent to 24 per cent of entries graduating to the First List, or the entries that fulfill the judging criteria of the first round of judging at the Kyoorius Creative Awards. The First List, hence, forms the pool of entries that have the potential to win Elephants.

    “Beyond recognising excellence, Kyoorius also stands to recognise obstacles,” said Kyoorius founder and CEO Rajesh Kejriwal. “Addressing the pain points of our entrants and the award ecosystem has always been our mission. Globally, Kyoorius was the first to initiate an open and transparent judging process. Every year, we’ve fine-tuned the awards to reflect the realities of the industry. This year, GiveBack continues that ethos.”

    “We’re proud to continue our support for the Kyoorius Creative Awards and its newly launched ‘GiveBack’ initiative, building upon our longstanding commitment to fostering creativity and supporting the advertising fraternity. Through this bold initiative, we intend to empower every entrant, ensuring that their efforts are valued, regardless of the outcome. At ZEE, we’ve always championed the cause of the creative ecosystem and this initiative aligns perfectly with our ethos of nurturing creativity, innovation and inclusivity.” added ZEE MD and CEO Punit Goenka.

    Kyoorius has also detailed strategic changes to simplify and enhance the entrant experience. The Kyoorius Creative Awards now span eight tracks to simplify the various disciplines and categories, making it easier for entrants to enter work. The tracks include advertising, craft, experience and engagement, entertainment, creativity for good, the ZEE Equality Awards, and address new areas: regional advertising and health & pharma.

    The regional advertising track aims to celebrate creativity in Indian languages beyond English and Hindi. The health and pharma track allows entrants across the specialist healthcare and pharma space to compete on a fair playing field whilst driving the sector forward to new creative heights.

    Other changes to the disciplines and categories include the introduction of a new creativity in PR discipline under the experience and engagement track, and nuanced revamps to the film, digital and social media, creative use of media, technology and creativity for good disciplines.

    Entries to the Kyoorius Creative Awards are priced at a flat Rs 15,000/- (excluding taxes) to all tracks, except regional advertising and the ZEE Equality Awards. Entries to the Regional Advertising track are priced at a flat Rs 10,000/- (excluding taxes). As always there are no fees to enter the ZEE Equality Awards.

    Kyoorius continues to curate a world-class jury and announcements will be made shortly. The deadline for entries to the Kyoorius Creative Awards 2024 is 19 April 2024.

    Visit kca.kyoorius.com to enter, and for additional information about key dates, the tracks, disciplines, categories, eligibility, rules and more.

    The Kyoorius Creative Awards are presented by ZEE, with outdoor partner Laqshya Media, and supported by Indian Creative Women.
     

  • Punit Goenka vows to strengthen Zee following deal failure

    Punit Goenka vows to strengthen Zee following deal failure

    Mumbai: So has the implosion of the Sony Pictures deal with Zee Entertainment dampened the spirit of its MD and CEO Punit Goenka?

    Not really. The eldest son of Zee founder Subhash Chandra is in Ayodhya with his family as this story is being written, attending the consecration of the Ram temple in the state of Uttar Pradesh.

    Punit appeared unaffected by the refusal of Sony to give an extension of a month to try and forge an agreement, which please both the Japanese giant and Zee.

    In high spirits, Goenka, smiled widely as he tweeted on the social media platform X: “ As I arrived at Ayodhya early this morning for the auspicious occasion of Pran Pratishtha, I received a message that the deal that I have spent two years envisioning and working towards had fallen through, despite my best and most honest efforts. I believe this to be a sign from the Lord. I resolve to move ahead positively and work towards strengthening Bharat’s pioneering M&E Company, for all its stakeholders. Jai Shri Ram .”
     

  • If not Sony, then who for Zee?

    If not Sony, then who for Zee?

    Mumbai: It’s on. It’s off. It’s on again. It’s off again. The yes and no speculation about the Zee Entertainment merger with Culver Max Entertainment (Sony in India) has been crazy enough to  blow one’s brains in almost every direction.

    Yesterday, Zee-baiters and haters must have gone all gleeful when Bloomberg broke the news that Sony is dis-inclined to go ahead with the fusion courtesy all the brouhaha that has been created around allegations that father Subhash Chandra and son Punit Goenka personally pocketed company-borrowed money. This despite, Punit was loathe to agree to Sony’s demand that he accede his position as CEO of the merged entity to Sony India head NP Singh. Indian media bit the bait of the “failed merger” news and went to town and proclaimed the death of the merged entity. Both Zee and Sony kept their lips zipped officially.  

    Towards evening came a report that a partnership might yet be in discussion splitting the odds equally. The reason: a penalty of $100 million will have to be paid out to Zee TV by Sony should they pull out of the merger, said a few newspaper reports. Others suggested Zee had failed to live up to many conditions precedent in the merger agreement documents between the two and hence a tremendous trust deficit has been built up between the two.  (These reports have since been denied by Zee in a regulatory filing and it has claimed that it is continuing to pursue the merger agreement).

    Sony has to respond to  Zee’s last month’s merger proposal and new conditions by 20-22 January and agree or disagree to the terms; it still has a lot of time to decide. Then why be in a rush to have anonymous sources make the revelation that its interest was off the table? Did the Bloomberg journo misquote the source? Or was Sony just testing how Zee would react to its disgruntlement? Would the latter take advantage of the stringent exit clause and howl or would it just walk away quietly?

    Whatever be Sony’s rationale, it’s imperative that it gets clarity sooner than later. That’s because a megalith is being created with the signing of an agreement between Mukesh Ambani’s Jio (Viacom18) and Disney’s India operations under Disney + Star India. The agglomeration of the two will create a giant which will control a sizeable chunk of the market by viewership. That’s something which many are saying could  harm the development of the media & entertainment vertical in the long term, especially placing oodles of power in the hands of one giant.

    Sectors do better when there is an equally fit No 2 giving the No 1 a run for its dollars. And a No 3 and a No 4. Muscle is needed to fight muscle. Sony, Zee, Sun TV on their own will be dwarfed in front of the Jio-Disney combine. Yes, we have gorillas like Netflix, Amazon, Google, Microsoft operating in India.  But one is not clear about how they will play their hand going forward. A few smaller players will innovate and through their nimble-footedness score a few points. But the advantage of scale of capital, content creation, distribution, and advertising inventory will lie with one major – Jio-Disney.

    We have seen how Jio has changed the dynamics of the telecom as well as streaming business, thanks to its humongous 400 million plus telco subscribers. Making premium sports and entertainment content available for free to subscribers can be a good customer acquisition strategy. But for how long will that go on and that too unchallenged?

    Cable TV operators have been crying foul to the regulator TRAI as the same content on cable TV and DTH is being levied at a fee to subscribers. True, the government wants to make TV available to many more though its free to air service DD FreeDish. For obvious reasons. It wants to be able to address large swathes of the  population across the nation on one platform, rather than have to engage with many more outlets. And it wants it to say what the powers-that-be want to say.

    In such a scenario, it’s imperative that consolidation in the industry is encouraged. So that balance and sanity are maintained.

    Let’s suppose that Sony is willing to let go of a hundred mill in penalties for calling off the merger. Will a corporate raider swoop in jostling out the promoters? Doubtful, considering media is a specialized business which is transforming so rapidly that no non-strategic corporate will be willing to lose billions of dollars in trying to set things right at Zee. Especially considering that its margins have been under pressure and how much cleaning up it needs on several fronts.

    Then, what are the white knight options left for Zee to get scale and get out of its financial commitments to debtors as well as get infusion of cash for growth.

    Private equity? Hedge funds with mountains of resources? They might be cautious, considering how Sony has fled from getting into bed with it.

    Could Adani be interested? He is yet digesting his news venture NDTV and digital acquisitions, so interest from his side might be lukewarm.

    Or could it be Kalanithi Maran’s Sun TV?

    It seems like a good fit. Both Chandra and Maran -run entrepreneurial organisations. Both are pioneers and the latter has so much cash, he does not know what to do with it. Sun TV is strong in the south, Zee TV has strengths in Hindi and some regional languages. Sun TV is nurturing a Hindi language entertainment channel. A joint venture will see lots of benefits accruing to both. The two business groups will have to keep aside the personal and professional differences of the promoters and look at long term survival and growth.

    But that’s in the future. Now, if Goenka and Chandra can find ways to assuage the miffed mood amongst executives in Sony headquarters, the story might have a fairy tale ending like the two want.

    The author is a media analyst. The views expressed in the comment piece are his own and indiantelevision.com need not subscribe to them.

  • Sony likely to call off merger – a low probability event for now

    Sony likely to call off merger – a low probability event for now

    Mumbai: According to media reports, Sony is expected to call of USD 10bn merger with Zee due to a standoff over whether Zee’s CEO Punit Goenka would lead the merged entity.

    Sony plans to file the termination notice before a 20 Jan 2024, extended deadline for closing the deal, saying some of the conditions necessary for the merger had not been met.

    Discussions are still ongoing between the two sides and a resolution can still emerge before the deadline.

    View

    We don’t foresee any negative impact of above so far. As per our checks, deal conversations continue and will most likely go ahead without Goenka as CEO; we expect a final clarity on the extension of the deal by third of week of January’24, which is almost a month ahead of the 20 Dec’2023 agreement cut off date. Conversations continue to happen for both parties, however no final outcome has been reached yet on terms of the deal.

    We continue to believe that the deal is equally important for both entities with competitive intensity growing due to Disney/RIL talks gaining traction.

    Maintain our view the likelihood of the deal going through remains high, Zee had made a statement on 20 Dec, 2023 on entering fair negotiations with Sony, which indicates that they too are very much in favour of the deal going through.

    We will await more updates and any official statement from both parties, in case of change in stance. We don’t foresee Sony agreeing on Mr Punit becoming CEO, due to the ongoing investigation against him. However, there is a very small chance of Goenka putting the deal at risk due to him wanting to become CEO, even if term sheet and deal condition mentions that Zee has moved up 50 per cent over the last one year, despite a muted financial performance , largely on the back of valuation multiple re-rating due to the merger with Sony Corp; any potential risk of the merger getting called off by Sony will have a significant negative impact on valuations.

    Post the change in deal terms/ potential name of a new CEO for the merged Co, shareholder, Board, ROC (Registrar of Companies) and MIB (Ministry of Information and Broadcasting) approval may be needed which may only take a few weeks; our legal experts indicate that a fresh NCLT/CCI approval will not be needed for change in CEO of the merged co; further, as per our assessment – the NCLT/CCI  approval isn’t time bound, which means any potential extension has no negative impact on the merger.

    The credit of this article is attributed to Elara Capital SVP Karan Taurani. 

  • Ad environment muted; growth led by subscribers

    Ad environment muted; growth led by subscribers

    Mumbai: Zee Entertainment (Z IN) posted ad. revenue drop of 3.5 per cent YoY in H1, as demand environment was volatile despite recovery in ad spend. We estimate H2FY24E to report ad spend growth of mere 5-6 per cent YoY, as large portion of spends could be diverted to sports due to the Cricket World Cup (CWC). Subscription revenue was strong due to NTO 3.0, which led to price hikes after three years. Expect growth to be in the range of 7-8 per cent YoY in H2FY24E as well. Overall revenue grew a sharp 20.2 per cent YoY, largely led by performance of Gadar 2, excluding which overall revenue grew mere 5.4 per cent YoY. Zee5 also reported a revenue growth of 59 per cent YoY to Rs 2,652mn, helped by a syndication deal. Z gained viewership share in linear TV too, as its share grew 90bps QoQ to 17.9 per cent, helped by gain in selective regional genres.

    Probability of merger going through high

    Z’s share price performance will largely be led by valuation re-rating, hinged on the merger with Sony. The recent order passed by SAT allows Punit Goenka to remain the CEO of the merged entity, but the SEBI may continue to investigate Punit Goenka. As per our assessment (https://tinyurl.com/2wu5bxc7), the probability of the merger going through is high, with or without Punit Goenka, unless he does not change his stance (maintaining his view that he will give utmost importance to the merger going through for shareholder interest, even if he has to let go of his designation as CEO of the merged entity). Per our legal checks, there is a low likelihood of Sony wanting Goenka to remain as CEO, until the investigation outcome is known; further, the investigation outcome may take 12-15 months and Sony may not wait that long for the merger to be executed. This potentially increases the risk for Z/Sony merger, which may lead to valuations being under check.

    Valuation: Reiterate Buy; TP unchanged at Rs 340

    We reiterate buy with SoTP-TP of Rs 340 (unchanged) after factoring in merger synergies and potential medium-term play backed by the strength of Z and Sony in the TV and OTT businesses. We assume a cash infusion of $1.5bn by Sony and value the merged company broadcasting business at 20x (unchanged) one-year forward P/E and the OTT business at 4.0x one-year forward EV/sales. Our PAT estimate incorporates potential OTT losses.

    The credit for this article goes to Elara Capital Sr VP – research analyst (media, consumer discretionary & internet) Karan Taurani.

  • SAT allowing Punit as CEO of Zee/Sony merged co. – a potential overhang if Sony does not agree on the same

    SAT allowing Punit as CEO of Zee/Sony merged co. – a potential overhang if Sony does not agree on the same

    Mumbai: As per media reports (link – https://tinyurl.com/4sfbhbn4

    ), Sony does not want Punit Goenka to head Zee/Sony merged co, amidst the ongoing SEBI investigation which will continue despite interim relief from SAT. We believe this is as per our two scenarios pointed out earlier (scenario 1 – merger process expedited with clarity over Punit and scenario 2 – Sony not in favour of appointing Punit as CEO amidst the ongoing investigation), which clearly mentioned that Sony may not be in favour of having a CEO who is undergoing an investigation.

    Legally, we don’t foresee any challenge in appointing Punit as CEO, post the relief by SAT- as indicated by primary checks with legal experts too. However, as Sony is the majority in this merger – they may decide to appoint someone else due to this investigation; there is a high likelihood of Sony appointing someone internally to head the merged co.

    There is minimal impact of the above move (change in CEO) eventually, as the appointment of a new CEO will require a mere shareholder and Board approval; as mentioned earlier, we don’t foresee big delays beyond a point for the merger and the process could end over next 8-12 weeks, as Sony may not wait longer than that. Hence, we don’t even expect a big delay as such on the merger due to this move. Expect a larger transition time in business synergies case of Sony acquiring Zee without Punit, due to a potential new management for Zee

    Albeit above, 1) the business synergies, 2) superior CG (corporate governance) practice, 3) scale in OTT remain to be the drivers for the merged co and this could drive superior valuation multiples.

    Various scenarios that could emerge basis above – if Punit Geonka changes his stance and wants to remain CEO of the merged co, post SAT approval or keeps his stance (not wanting to become CEO)

    1) Scenario one – Sony may back out – merged called off  (Probability -20 per cent)

    In case of Punit Goenka wanting to be the CEO of the merged co. and Sony not agreeing upon the same,  it may lead to Sony backing out of the merger. We believe the probability of this event seems to very low, as the merger is very important for Z shareholders and the Goenka family; also, Sony may struggle to scale up in a market like India in case Disney is acquired by Reliance. We believe Sony too is equally eager for the merger as Z is, as the linear TV and OTT market has turned disruptive.

    2) Scenario two – Punit remains CEO of the merged co (Probability -10 per cent)

    In this scenario, Sony may allow Punit Goenka to remain as CEO and have their own finance, operations team for day to day affairs, with a majority on Board by Sony. However, given Sony’s MNC culture, this may seem to be a low likelihood event, unless they legally need to do it (As per term sheet of the merger) and cannot back out of the merger; Sony may not want to have a CEO on Board, who is under a SEBI investigation

    3) Scenario three – Punit may be offered a board seat, but not a CEO role (Probability -30 per cent)

    In this scenario, Punit may be offered a Board seat in the merged co, but not a CEO designation, until the outcome of investigation is known. This in turn may lead to superior CG practices in Z, with change in finance and operations team post the merger by Sony. This could potentially be a win-win for both parties, if mutually agreed upon. Further, Punit may also ask Sony for a higher non-compete fee in case he plans to step aside of Zee and not become CEO. We believe the probability of this event is on the higher side, as Punit may eventually agree to be on Board in the interim, until the outcome of investigation is known with a higher non compete fee

    4) Scenario four – Merger goes ahead without Punit (Probability – 40 per cent)

    In this scenario, Punit Goenka agrees to step aside as CEO if Sony decides to call off the merger; Sony may continue to run its India operations in India if the merger is called off, but Zee may struggle as valuations may come off atleast 50 per cent if the merger does not go through, which in turn could hamper shareholder and promoter stake valuation in Z today. We thus believe that at the end of the day, bargaining power is limited from Z promoter side, and they may have to agree upon the same. Sony can also seek shareholder approval (consortium) and go ahead with the merger without Punit Goenka. We believe probability of this event is the highest as shareholders own the company, with promoters having a mere 4 per cent stake.

    In terms of merger process, Z has already filed with ROC (Registrar of Companies); the merger process has reached advance stages and hence it may be tough for Sony too to back out of this merger. We thus believe that the likelihood of this merger going through remains high (80 per cent probability) with or without Punit Geonka; however, the recent approval by SAT allowing Punit as CEO and Sony not agreeing upon the same is a potential risk for the merger, as probability of the merger not going through moves up to 20 per cent now. As per our checks with legal experts, SEBI will file a stay in Supreme Court against the SAT order by end of this month. We await updates from Sony and Zee management, which will provide us more colour on where this merger could be headed.

    The credit for this article goes to Elara Capital Sr VP – research analyst (media, consumer discretionary & internet) Karan Taurani.