Following media allegations that the Japanese corporation was intending to back out of the $10 billion transaction, the Nikkei reported on Wednesday, citing persons involved in the negotiations, that the Sony Group was still in talks with Zee Entertainment Enterprises to integrate their companies in India.
The Nikkei said that the negotiations will go on until the deal’s closing date of January 20.
Due to a deadlock over whether Zee CEO Punit Goenka, who is the subject of a regulatory investigation, will manage the combined firm, Bloomberg News revealed on Monday that Sony intended to submit a notice of termination before to the deadline.
Zee declared that the rumors that the contract had fallen through were “baseless and factually incorrect” and that it was still working to finalize the agreement.
Zee’s stock increased by as much as 4.5% on Wednesday following the Nikkei article.
In their worst session since April 2021, they had closed almost 8 percent lower on Tuesday because to worries about the implications of a merger collapse for the cash-strapped Indian broadcaster in a fiercely competitive sector.
With the impending merger of local powerhouse Reliance Industries and Walt Disney’s Indian media and entertainment operations, analysts say the agreement is critical to the companies’ future.
An inquiry for comment from Reuters was not immediately answered by Sony India.
The 2021 merger was postponed when Goenka was banned from directorships in any listed company by India’s markets regulator in 2018 due to accusations that he was involved in embezzlement of company funds. However, a panel later overturned the ban.
