Emergency arbitration in the Zee-Sony case to be held in Singapore today

The hearing for an emergency arbitration in the Zee Entertainment - Sony merger deal fallout will take place at the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) today. On 22 January, Sony Group Corp, the Japanese parent company of Sony Picture Network India announced the termination of the USD 10 billion merger agreement with ZEEL, while seeking USD 90 million for breach of conditions while initiating arbitration.

Zee Entertainment on its part has initiated legal action to contest Sony's claims of $90 million (around ₹748.5 crore) as a termination fee. For this, the Japanese firm has moved the Singapore International Arbitration Centre.

Earlier, Sony Group Corporation (SGC) had said ZEEL did not satisfy the merger conditions, despite engaging in discussions to extend the end date for consummation of the transaction.

In the wake of the deal's termination by Sony, Zee's stock crashed in the markets. On January 23, it suffered the highest single-day fall of 30.50 per cent, and ended at ₹152.50. In the trading session on Wednesday, January 24, Zee's share price partially recovered, to settle at ₹166.35 apiece on the BSE.

If the Sony-Zee merger was completed, then the combined entity would have owned over 70 TV channels, two video streaming services (ZEE5 and Sony LIV), and two film studios (Zee Studios and Sony Pictures Films India). This would have the entity the largest entertainment network in India.