ZEE-Sony merger to happen, whether I'm CEO or not: Punit Goenka

Zee Entertainment Enterprises MD & CEO Punit Goenka stated that the ZEE-Sony merger will proceed whether or not he serves as the merged company's CEO because it benefits 96% of stakeholders.

Speaking for the first time in an interview with Economic Times after SEBI's order, Goenka acknowledged Sony's comment on SEBI's order, and said that during his regular meetings with Sony, there was no indication of any kind of hesitation regarding the merger.

On Wednesday, as per a Reuters report, Sony had said that it was taking the Sebi order seriously, and that it is tracking developments which 'may affect' deal with Zee.

Goenka expressed his hope that the merger would be completed by September, the timeframe Sony recently provided in a statement.

Although both companies plan to close the merger deal by September, Goenka said 'Our current contractual drop-off date is December 20, 2023'. And if there is any potential delay then 'We can go up until December 2023'

Upon the question of merger-related job attrition at Sony and Zee, Goenka said 'you will hardly see any attrition because both networks have to continue to run. They can't shut down those channels. And each channel requires a certain number of people on the programming, marketing, and sales sides. So you won't see much attrition there. When we merge the two OTT platforms, let's say two years down the line, you will see some attrition happening'