Sony circles Zee stake
May 29, 2019
By Chris Forrester
Sony Entertainment TV is – again – said to be close to buying a stake in Subhash Chandra’s Essel Group which would give Sony a majority stake in India’s major broadcasting conglomerate Zee Entertainment Enterprises.
A previous attempt by Sony to take a stake in Essel/Zee failed earlier in April over disagreements over valuations and how the purchase would be structured.
Sony already has significant broadcasting interests in India through its Sony-branded channels.
This time, according to reports on CNBC-TV18 business news channel, talks are back on with reports that Sony would get a ‘right of first refusal’ in the event of Essel/Zee doing a deal with another buyer.
Essel/Zee has made no secret that it wants a fresh investor to come into its business. May 28th saw Zee’s stock price on the Bombay exchange soar 2.5 per cent on the news.