ITV

Tag: Subhash Chandra

  • SAT sets aside SEBI order against ZEE promoters

    SAT sets aside SEBI order against ZEE promoters

    Mumbai: SAT has quashed SEBI’s order of barring Punit Goenka from holding key directorship in listed entities over the alleged fund-diversion case.

    Our view

    Implications of the event

    Scenario 1- This may expedite the Zee/Sony merger process; if SEBI gives a go ahead in favour of Punit Goenka, without going to the Supreme Court, post the detailed order that is to be released tonight. In this case, we expect the record date to be announced around last week of November 23. This in turn means that the listing of the merged co. will happen towards the first week of Jan ’24. Further, with Goenka coming on Board, there will be no need for any changes in the term sheet, or any Board/shareholder approval required for change in CEO; this also means that business will be as usual for ZEE and lesser transition time with little change in senior management.

    Scenario 2- SEBI can also move to the Supreme Court to appeal for a stay against SAT’s order. Further, the SAT order may only mention that Goenka can continue as CEO of Zee or the merged co; however, SEBI’s investigation on grounds of fraud may continue after this relief by SAT. This in turn means that there is still a high likelihood of the merger going through without Goenka. We believe there is a low likelihood of Sony allowing Goenka to continue as CEO of the merged Co, unless the issue with SAT is resolved (in case of SEBI going to Supreme Court). In this case, there may be a delay in the merger too, if Goenka changes his stance  and waits for the outcome of investigation; if Sony does not wait, then merger will go through as usual and the merged co will get listed by Jan’24

    Change in media landscape – a big benefit for Zee/Sony

    With Reliance wanting to acquire Disney, the media landscape on TV/OTT side will see a big consolidation as two large players – 1) TV18/Disney and 2) Zee/Sony could potentially command a market share of 67%/53% (TV18/Disney and Zee/Sony together) on TV/OTT in India; which could shift bargaining power in their favour and help them grow ahead of industry averages, as other players may scale down in the ecosystem

    No overhang of CG issues

    With Sony coming as a parent company, we expect no CG (corporate governance) issues in the future, which in turn will drive re-rating of valuation multiples for Zee.

    The stock has corrected more than 10 per cent from its peak over the last three months post the NCLT approval in Aug’23, citing delay on the merger. We await 1) the detailed order and 2) SEBI’s response on the above judgement order passed by SAT to allow Goenka to be a part of Z to assess the actual impact of the above decision for the merger and Goenka; we have a BUY recommendation on Zee with a Sept 24 TP of Rs 340 – we will await more developments over the near term on above.

    Background of the event

    • On 12 June 2023, SEBI banned ZEE promoters Chandra & Goenka from holding directorial, key managerial roles over allegations of fund siphoning. On 13 June 2023, ZEE promoters approached SAT against the order following which SAT provided SEBI 48 hrs. to file a reply against ZEE’s plea.

    • On 10 July 2023, two weeks of time were provided by SAT to ZEE promoters to file a response against the interim order. Meanwhile ZEE formed an interim committee of senior executives to run operations at the company.

    • On 14 August 2023, SEBI asked for 8 months of time to complete investigation of alleged fund diversion by Zee promoters (due to significant red flags in the transactions between Zee and Essel entities) which was again challenged by ZEE on 26 August 2023.

    • On 27 September 2023, SAT reserved order on the case after hearing from both the parties.

    • On 30 October 2023, SAT quashed SEBI’s order barring Goenka from holding key directorship in listed entities over the alleged fund-diversion case.

    The credit of this article goes to Elara Capital SVP Karan Taurani

  • Joy Chakraborthy: The TV news executive who loves a slugfest

    Joy Chakraborthy: The TV news executive who loves a slugfest

    Mumbai: At first sight, you would probably assume that Zee Media chief business officer Joy Chakraborthy has been a pugilist at some time in his life. With hefty arms, a broad stocky physique, he normally strides across the room like a man with a mission, with a purpose.

    Always ready for a good scrap, he has got into it by jumping back into the highly competitive TV news business at the invitation of media innovator and promoter Subhash Chandra when he joined the Zee news network six weeks ago to get its cash coffers overflowing once again.

    “I’ve spent a large part of my working life being in the news business. I was on the founding team of Star News, I worked in TV Today, Network18,” says the dimpled Chakraborthy with a huge smile. “There is no better place than Zee to work at. To come back to Zee which is like home to me and to work with a boss who gives me so much freedom to work, it’s a delight.”

    With his revenue portfolio covering digital, linear, marketing, and distribution (international & domestic), Chakraborthy has since joining been making whistle stop visits to advertising agencies, marketing clients, digital outfit and distribution partners across India.

    “I like to lead from the front, meet everyone and tell them about what we plan to do on our FPC, programming, advertising packaging, and branded solutions. I have been to Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Kolkata and Delhi,” he says. “My meetings have also led me getting a lot of feedback.”

    Chakraborthy says the agencies and brands are telling him that the TV news industry is in a bit of a mess as far as their perception of it is concerned.

    “The news genre is under stress in terms of evaluation. The marketer is beginning to wonder who is really No 1 as every channel is claiming it is No 1,” reveals Chakraborthy. “Brand custodians don’t slice and dice viewership for news as we are doing. Yes, they put in some numbers like the affinity index but they buy the genre differently as it is bought for frequency/OTS and for a B2B connect.”

    According to him, this No 1 claiming syndrome has led to confusion amongst brands leading to most of the news channels filling up their advertising inventory to the tune of only 65-70 per cent as recently as a few weeks ago. “In all the years I have been in the industry, news channels have been overflowing with inventory, unlike today. We as an industry have to get together to put a halt to this ‘I’m No 1’ claiming itch,” he emphasises.

    He adds that even as certain players are claiming the numero uno status, they are still selling airtime at very low prices compared to the legacy players. “This phenomenon is dragging the news genre down instead of increasing the yield to delivery ratio. I’d like to see their No 1 claims being reflected in their airtime rates and revenues.”

    Additionally, what’s irking him is the rampant misuse of landing pages on cable TV and DTH platforms by TV news broadcasters, and the measurement and reporting of this “rogue” viewership by Broadcast Audience Research Council (Barc).  

    “There’s a lot of load shedding in places in the Hindi speaking heartlands of India. If a viewer is watching say X channel and the power goes off and when it comes back, he or she is forced to watch the landing page channel before switching to his or her favorite news channel. Now if this process takes 10 or 35 seconds, his viewing is measured and reported because of Barc’s basic rules that anyone watching for within a minute is considered a viewer, is what I understand,” explains Chakraborthy. “The agency needs to increase the viewing time to two to three minutes for a person to be considered a viewer. Otherwise all the landing page viewing adds up to significant numbers and skews the ratings.”

    Another disturbing trend that has developed amongst news channels is the fact that some of them are running break-free content and news to gain viewership, he says. “The irony is that the advertiser is buying spots on the channel based on the ratings derived from break-free content,” he elucidates.

    He believes that Zee News has a great portfolio of offerings in terms of languages and regional channels serving as a great outreach platform for brands.

    “Zee is a very strong brand name,” he highlights. “Almost every famous face who is on other news channels has worked for some time at Zee. We lead in certain markets. We have great teams in place. What I have created is the Zee News Plus offering wherein the sales people are selling us as a network. They can package national with other regional channels to present a better solution to agencies and brands. Nobody has a network like we do. For me as a revenue leader, I have always taken the targets. However, success is my team’s and failure is mine.”

    With that kind of an attitude, Joy is sure to bring a lot of glee to the Zee News bottom line.

  • Zee Media launches news channel Zee Delhi NCR Haryana

    Zee Media launches news channel Zee Delhi NCR Haryana

    Mumbai: Zee Media Corp has launched a news channel catering to Delhi, NCR, and Haryana. The channel called ‘Zee Delhi NCR Haryana’ will serve everyday news consumption needs via an array of different genres of programmes, it said.

    Congratulating Zee Media on the launch of the channel, Rajya Sabha MP Dr Subhash Chandra in his message wished that the channel delivers to the expectations of the viewers. He also urged viewers to give their feedback about the channel.

    “First, I would like to extend my best wishes to the group on launching the new channel – Zee Delhi, NCR and Haryana,” said chief minister of Haryana Manohar Lal. “We are rapidly evolving and coming closer every day becoming a global village; and news plays a very important role in this. I expect that the new channel will be a bridge between the state government and the people of Haryana.”

    With the channel launch, Zee Media has addressed the need gap of hyperlocal news exclusively focused on the issues pertaining to Delhi, NCR and Haryana. The channel offers carefully curated programming that caters beyond politics and debates by including shows on crime, lifestyle, health etc.

    “Congratulations to Zee Media on launching Zee Delhi NCR Haryana, for fulfilling the need of a regional-focused channel based out of our region,” said chief minister of Delhi Arvind Kejriwal. “Journalists work in tough conditions and I have a lot of respect for the work they do but sometimes, they may get disconnected from the common man. There will be many things that different parties or politicians say, but it is important to keep the focus on what the common man says.”

    “The regions of Delhi, NCR and Haryana are a hotbed for politics and are also important cultural centres of the country,” said Zee Media cluster chief business officer Abhay Ojha. “We see a gap in honest, unbiased and extensive on-ground reporting in the regions, and hence we launched the channel that will exclusively cater to fulfilling that gap. We aim to be the most trustworthy news brand in the market. Since retail sales potential is very high, many SMEs are missing the platform as they can’t go to the national channels. Only local channels can give them complete RoI on advertisement, and we aim to focus on hyperlocal.”

    Zee Delhi, NCR and Haryana will be available as a linear television channel across all DTH and MSO platforms, along with the OTT streaming platform Zee5. The news channel will also have its handles on social media platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter.

  • The era of internet belongs to Mayaverse: Subhash Chandra

    The era of internet belongs to Mayaverse: Subhash Chandra

    Mumbai: Essel group chairman Subhash Chandra opened up about the latest corporate developments in an interview with Zee Business’s managing editor Anil Singhvi on Wednesday. He spoke about the Mayaverse, Zee Group’s digital ambitions, Zeel-Sony merger, Yes Bank Dish TV issue and other matters.

    When asked about new trends such as metaverse, crypto and NFTs, Chandra said, “I call it Mayaverse, as the era of internet belongs to Mayaverse.” During the conversation, Chandra hinted that the group will be coming up with something new very soon – this time on the technology front. 

    He said, “we never started any business for money, we always tried to do something new by means of business.”

    He also revealed Zee group’s plans to add one billion users in the next three years. Zee Media’s digital platforms have 300 million active users and the group will focus on monetising digital content going forward.

    Channel’s performance 

    Talking about Zee Media’s performance, Chandra noted that 58 per cent of the viewers watching Zee Media’s international channel WION is a foreign audience. 

    He also stated that WION has more followers on YouTube than the BBC and plans to add another 500 million viewers in the next five years.

    Speaking about the corporate developments at Essel Group, Chandra said that it has reduced 92 per cent of debt at the promoter level and the rest of the debt will be cleared within one to two months. He also admitted that venturing into the infra business was a ‘mistake’. 

    The conflict between Dish TV-Yes Bank

    On the boardroom conflict between Dish TV and Yes Bank, he commented that the previous management at Yes Bank ‘did fraud with us’ and that many people in the media lack the right information regarding the matter between Yes Bank and Dish TV. Coming to the ongoing merger between Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited and Sony Pictures Networks India, he said the merger is moving in the right direction and after regulatory approvals, the merger will be completed.

    The media mogul is hopeful for a bounce-back with more ‘strength’ and ‘power’ and observed that the environment is quite positive in the country under PM Modi’s leadership. “We are continuously working on many fronts,” he said.

  • Zeel-Invesco case: Bombay HC to resume hearing on 6 December

    Zeel-Invesco case: Bombay HC to resume hearing on 6 December

    Mumbai: The division bench of the Bombay high court has kept the Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (Zeel) and Invesco case for further hearing on 6 December. Invesco has challenged the injunction order by the court that restrained the majority shareholder from calling an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) of shareholders.

    The court had granted the injunction on 29 October.

    The Zeel-Invesco boardroom began when the media company’s two top investors Invesco Developing Markets Fund and OFI Global China Fund LLC who combined own ~18 per cent stake in the company had sent a requisition notice to the company on 11 September to call for an EGM.

    The investors had also sought the removal of long-standing directors and close associates of the Chandra family from the board. The two independent directors Ashok Kurien and Manish Chokhani have already submitted their resignations. 

    The investors moved to have six nominees appointed to the board of Zeel, which included Surendra Singh Sirohi, Naina Krishna Murthy, Rohan Dhamija, Aruna Sharma, Srinivasa Rao Addepali, and Gaurav Mehta as independent directors of the board for a term up to five consecutive years. The notice was received by Zeel on 12 September, and it informed the stock exchanges on 13 September, adding that the appointments are subject to approval by the ministry of information and broadcasting (MIB).

    Zeel refused to conduct the EGM citing ‘shareholders interest’ and moved to Bombay high court on 2 October seeking to declare the requisition notice as “illegal and invalid.”

  • NCLT gives Zeel time till 22 Oct to file reply to Invesco plea

    NCLT gives Zeel time till 22 Oct to file reply to Invesco plea

    Mumbai: The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) on Friday gave Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (Zeel) time till 22 October to file its reply to a plea by its shareholder, according to a report by PTI. The decision was taken after the company approached National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) which declared that ‘reasonable and sufficient opportunity’ should be given to Zeel to respond to the investor’s plea.

    Zeel had approached the appellate body challenging the NCLT order dated 5 October which asked the company to submit its reply to the investor’s demand for calling an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) by Thursday.

    The NCLT hearing had been deferred to Friday after the NCLAT reserved its order on the plea until later in the evening on Thursday.

    Zeel two top investors Invesco Developing Markets Fund and OFI Global China Fund LLC who combined own 18 per cent stake in the company had sent a requisition notice to Zeel on 11 September to call an EGM even after two weeks, the investors moved to NCLT, citing provisions of Company Law, according to which the company is bound to call for an EGM within a specific number of days, if stakeholder demanding it owns more than 10 per cent of the company.

    The investors had also sought the removal of long-standing directors and close associates of the Chandra family from the board. The two independent directors Ashok Kurien and Manish Chokhani have already submitted their resignations.  

    The investors moved to have six nominees appointed to the board of Zeel, which included Surendra Singh Sirohi, Naina Krishna Murthy, Rohan Dhamija, Aruna Sharma, Srnivasa Rao Addepali and Gaurav Mehta as independent directors of the board for a term up to five consecutive years. The notice was received by Zeel on 12 September, and it informed the stock exchanges on 13 September, adding that the appointments are subject to approval by the ministry of information and broadcasting (I&B).

    Last week, Zeel refused to conduct the EGM citing ‘shareholders interest,’ and moved to Bombay high court seeking to declare the requisition notice as ‘illegal and invalid.’

  • Essel Group chairman Subhash Chandra settles 91% debt to 43 lenders

    Essel Group chairman Subhash Chandra settles 91% debt to 43 lenders

    Mumbai: Essel Group chairman Subhash Chandra has issued a second Open Letter sharing details of the debt resolution process and the steps taken to pay off the lenders. The Zee founder revealed that over 91 per cent of the debt has been settled to 43 lenders, and the remaining dues are in the process of being paid.

    In his first Open Letter issued on 25 January 2019, Chandra had apologised for the hardships faced by the lenders due to the liquidity crisis triggered by the IL&FS case and committed to repay the monies to the best of his abilities. The asset divestment process took a setback during the pandemic, which slowed down the overall debt resolution process, he wrote on Tuesday.

    “I am happy to report that we have come out of the financial stress situation by settling 91.2 per cent of our total debt to 43 lenders in 110 accounts. 88.3 per cent amount has been paid, while the remaining 2.9 per cent is in the process of being paid. We are making all the required efforts to settle the remaining 8.8 per cent of our total debt,” wrote Chandra. “I have no regrets for parting with a substantial ownership in the business and specially in the ‘jewels of the crown’. This was done to keep the family’s honor.”

    The Essel Group chairman further added that he intends to settle the remaining outstanding dues before the end of this fiscal year or before.

    He also shared that he does not regret the decision taken to part with a substantial portion of his ownership in his key businesses, attributing this decision taken to preserve the honour of his family, while reiterating the exit from the Infrastructure, Financial services & Print Media businesses.

    Elaborating on his next steps in terms of setting up a venture in the video space in the digital ecosystem, Chandra said, “I have earned a fair experience in the video business; hence I am exploring new ways / business opportunities in the “video in digital space” as well as AI/ML (Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning) in the video space, without getting into any conflicts with ZEEL, in any manner. I will provide the specifics very soon and you all will witness the initial phase of launch, of yet another pioneering venture.”

    Noted Investment Banker, Venture Capitalist and Stock-Market expert, Vallabh Bhansali said, “In nearly forty years of our friendship, he has always made me feel proud. His achievements as a visionary businessman pales before his act of honour to sacrifice all he built for the sake of it. So also his humility to admit his errors openly. In fifty years of my business career, I can’t think of a parallel.”

  • No such transaction being undertaken, Zeel refutes reports of merger

    New Delhi: Putting speculation to rest, the entertainment giant Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (Zeel) on Monday said, there are no merger talks underway with Viacom18, as reported by a leading English daily.

    “We herewith confirm that there is no such transaction being undertaken and the matter is speculative in nature. This is for your information and records,” Subhash Chandra’s Essel group owned media company posted on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) on Monday.

    The statement comes in the wake of a report published by Livemint, about a potential merger between Viacom18 Media Pvt Ltd and Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (Zeel) through a share swap deal.

    According to the report, the merger was proposed to be done through a share swap deal. “The talks started a few weeks ago, and the deal is unlikely to involve any cash transaction,” reported the publication.

    Founded by Essel Group’s Subhash Chandra, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd is majority-owned by foreign institutional investors – Investco Oppenheimer Developing Markets Fund and Ofi Global Fund China LLC. The company is run by Chandra’s son and CEO & managing director Punit Goenka.

    Earlier in the day, Zeel spokesperson had also refused to confirm or deny the speculative news item. Said a Zeel corporate official:“The company does not comment on speculation and rumours.” 

  • Viacom18 and Zeel eyeing a merger?

    New Delhi: It’s the season for mergers. Following in the footsteps of  big media mergers globally, two entertainment giants back home- Viacom18 Media Pvt Ltd and Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (Zeel) are now reportedly looking to join hands to create a large firm, according to an unconfirmed news item in Mint on Monday.

    If  the reports are to be believed, the owner of the GEC Colors, Viacom18, and Subhash Chandra’s Zeel have initiated talks of a potential merger. It is too early to say, but, if the deal fructifies, the combined entity will end up owning and managing the largest number of TV channels in India, and probably globally. The combined media firm’s interest will span across broadcast, OTT, live entertainment, and movie production.

    However, it is not the first time that such talks of coagulating companies in the television business have floated. The buzz has been proven to be unfounded in the past.

    Last year,  similar talks of a  merger  between Viacom18 and Sony Pictures Network fell apart, after the Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries Ltd pushed for a majority stake in the combined entity as well. RIL owns a majority stake in Viacom18, which is a joint venture between TV18 Broadcast Ltd and US-based ViacomCBS Inc. While Network18 owns a 51 per cent stake in Viacom 18, Viacom holds the remaining 49 per cent.

    Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd was founded by Essel Group’s Subhash Chandra and is majority-owned by foreign institutional investors – Investco Oppenheimer Developing Markets Fund and Ofi Global Fund China LLC. The company is run by Chandra’s son and CEO & managing director Punit Goenka.

    A Zeel spokesperson refused to confirm or deny the speculative news item. Said a Zeel corporate official:  “The company does not comment on speculation and rumours.” 

  • Subhash Chandra denies rumors related to Dish TV India

    Subhash Chandra denies rumors related to Dish TV India

    KOLKATA: Dish TV India promoter and managing director Jawahar Goel has offered a substantial portion of his equity in the DYH operator as security for the credit facilities availed by Essel Group (Subhash Chandra Group). The group will return the security cover soon, Subhash Chandra Group official spokesperson Ronak Jatwala said in a statement.

    He went on to add that the Group is also extremely thankful to Goel. “Goel has extended support, in the form of a substantial portion of his equity in the mentioned listed entity (Dish TV), as security for the credit facilities availed by Subhash Chandra Group,” he noted.

    “The Group is confident and fully committed to return the mentioned security cover back to Jawahar Goel and his family. The group also wishes to iterate that Jawahar Goel, as the rightful owner of the equity stake in Dish TV India Ltd, had only stepped forward to offer support, and has no financial stress whatsoever in his personal capacity,” the statement added.

    Essel Group has also denied all the speculations and rumours pertaining to the shares being released from the lenders at a lower price and sold to third party investors at higher price points. These speculations are absolutely baseless and incorrect, and the company has no such intentions whatsoever, it claimed.

    “The Group has been consistently focused on its commitment towards its lenders and truly values the priceless support received during the turbulent phase, recognising their trust and belief. With their undeterred faith and support, the Group has successfully resolved majority of the issues and is on a steady path to iron out the limited pending issues,” Jatwala added.