Sony has terminated plans for the merger of its television and streaming operations in India with local giant Zee Entertainment Enterprises. The company said that they were not satisfied with the closing conditions.
The $10 billion tie-up had been in the works for more than two years and seen its fair share of regulatory roadblocks before the National Company Law Tribunal gave the deal a green light in August.
Last week Zee had said that it was continuing to work towards a successful closure of the deal with Culver Max Entertainment, formerly known as Sony Pictures Networks India.
However, Sony, on Monday, sent a notification that it was terminating the merger agreement.
In a statement, the company said, “Although we engaged in good faith discussions to extend the end date under the merger cooperation agreement, we were unable to agree upon an extension by the January 21 deadline. After more than two years of negotiations, we are extremely disappointed that closing conditions to the merger were not satisfied by the end date. We remain committed to growing our presence in this vibrant and fast-growing market and delivering world-class entertainment to Indian audiences.”
Had the merger gone ahead as planned, it would have seen the creation of an Indian media giant, bringing together the two companies’ linear TV networks, digital assets, production operations, and program libraries. In the deal, Sony was to provide a large cash injection and control 51% of the share stake.
Earlier in the month, Bloomberg had reported that Sony might step back from the merger as both sides were unable to decide on leadership of the combined group.
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