Mumbai: Zee Media Corp Ltd has written down the value of its investment in former subsidiary Diligent Media Corp by Rs 1.03 bn in its March quarter earnings. The company has listed the impairment charge as an exceptional item in its earnings for the March quarter, and has reported a consolidated loss of Rs 864.4 mn for the quarter.
Zee Media had invested Rs 4.36 bn in Diligent Media through 6% non-cumulative non-convertible redeemable preference shares in 2016-17 (Apr-Mar), and these shares are redeemable at par on Nov 1, 2036. In 2017-18 (Apr-Mar), the National Company Law Tribunal approved the de-merger of Diligent Media Corp into an independently listed entity.
It has ceased to be a subsidiary of the company with effect from Apr 1, 2017. Diligent Media Corp was established in 2005 and runs the Daily News and Analysis broadsheet. The write-down by value by Zee Media not only dragged its shares down by nearly 10% to Rs 13.20 on the NSE, but also weighed on the shares of Zee Entertainment Enterprises, which slumped more than 8% to Rs 317.30.
Shares of Diligent Media Corp were down nearly 7% at Rs 0.70 on the NSE. Meanwhile, Zee Entertainment clarified that no one from its board of directors had resigned and that rumours related to the resignation of a director were “completely baseless”
