Zee vs Sony arbitration hearing in Singapore tomorrow: Report

The hearing for an emergency arbitration in the Zee-Sony merger case will take place at the Singapore International Arbitration Centre on Wednesday, according to a report by CNBC-TV18.

Announcing the withdrawal of the merger, Sony had sought USD 90 million as termination fee from Zee for breach of conditions and initiated arbitration. Zee too had initiated legal action to contest Sony’s claims. 

Meanwhile, the National Company Law Tribunal on Tuesday accepted a petition by a Zee Entertainment shareholder seeking the merger of its Indian entity with Sony, which was called off last week. The NCLT also reportedly issued a notice on a petition moved by Mad Men Film Ventures, a shareholder of Zee Entertainment Enterprises (ZEEL), directing Sony Pictures Network India, now known as Culver Max, to file a reply within three weeks.

Troubles are mounting for the entertainment giant. 

Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd on Tuesday informed the Bombay Stock Exchange that it is not aware of Disney considering legal action against it over a USD 1.4 billion ICC TV rights deal. “It appears that the captioned news item mentions Disney Star’s internal discussions/ plans, which the company cannot remark on.” 

The BSE had sought clarification from ZEEL on Monday over a media report, which indicated that Disney Star may take legal action against Zee Entertainment for backing out from a sub-licensing agreement for TV broadcast of international cricket matches in India. 

This report was published with AI assistance.