The entire situation resembles an unbalanced marriage, where both parties are throwing criticisms at each other. Zee Entertainment and Invesco’s tussle is turning uglier with each passing day. The story is now taking a different turn, with Reliance Industries being dragged into the whole mess. While the three blame each other, let’s check out what’s happening!
RIL’s Bid For Zee Entertainment
RIL came out in the open when Invesco dragged the conglomerate in the fight. RIL said it offered a fair deal to Zee but did not proceed due to the staunch differences between Invesco and Punit Goenka. Now, Invesco was interested in the deal, but Zee was not. Invesco believes that Goenka signed the deal with Sony Pictures because it would allow Goenka to continue as the CEO of the company.
Invesco’s Motive
Invesco is a US-based asset manager that is the biggest institutional shareholder in Zee Entertainment. Invesco is looking to restructure the Zee board and oust Goenka. This made Zee furious and challenged Invesco’s attempt to restructure the board at the Bombay High Court. Both parties have lodged cases against each other, which are pending.
According to Invesco's press release, as Zee's single largest shareholder, the company's job is to 'help facilitate the prospective translation' and 'nothing more'. The shareholder was interested in the Zee-RIL deal, but Goenka went ahead with Sony to save its chair. This shocked Invesco, which is now in deliberation on how to move forward with its stern motive.
Tussle Continues
Amidst all the chaos, Zee founder and Goenka’s father Subhash Chandra had questioned Invesco on its intentions behind removing Goenka. It seems Invesco is interested in attaining a position of ‘decision-making’ in the company. With Goenka running the biz, Invesco is at unrest. Despite all the mess, Zee’s deal with Sony will bring in a massive change for the entertainment industry. The merged entity would be bigger than Viacom18, the joint venture of Mukesh Ambani’s Network18 Group and US-based ViacomCBS. In fact, not many know that Sony and Viacom18 were also engaged in merger talks but scrapped it when RIL demanded a majority stake in the combined entity.
