A day after Zee said it has requested Sony to push the date to close the big merger, Sony Pictures Network India (now Culver Max Entertainment Pvt Ltd) has said that it has not yet agreed to a deadline extension. 

“ZEE’s notice to the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange of India dated December 17 is an acknowledgement that they will not be able to meet the December 21, 2023 deadline to close the SPNI/ZEE merger. The notice triggers an existing contractual provision in the deal that allows for both parties to discuss the possibility of extending the deadline. SPNI is required to start those conversations but has not yet agreed to a deadline extension. We look forward to hearing ZEE’s proposals and how they plan to complete the remaining critical closing conditions,” the statement read.

In an earlier disclosure to the Bombay Stock Exchange, ZEEL had said that the company has requested CMEPL and BEPL to extend the date required to make the scheme effective, as per the terms of the Merger Cooperation Agreement.

Earlier, industry insiders had said that the listing of the Zee-Sony merged entity, which will create a $10 billion media and entertainment powerhouse, could happen anytime in January next year and the record date could be set by November-end.

The merger process was originally supposed to be completed by the end of September 2023, before the deadline was extended to December 22 due to legal complexities involving Zee.