Zee set to repay IndusInd US$10 million to wrap Sony deal

ZEE Entertainment Enterprises has agreed to repay dues owed to IndusInd Bank as the company seeks to resolve insolvency proceedings initiated against it and inch closer to completing a merger with a Sony Group unit to create a US$10 billion media giant, people familiar with the matter said.

The settling of dues of some US$10 million to the lender could happen as early as Friday and the Mumbai-based bank has agreed to withdraw its insolvency proceedings against the media company once the repayment is made, the people said, asking not to be named, as the information is not public. 

IndusInd Bank had approached the bankruptcy court in February, seeking to start insolvency proceedings against Zee, a move which could have threatened the merger by stopping all transactions, including asset transfers. The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal, an appeals court, halted the insolvency proceedings against the media company last month.

Representatives for Zee Entertainment and IndusInd didn’t respond to emails and phone calls seeking comments.

A lawyer representing Zee told NCLAT last month that the Sony deal had received all necessary approvals but would be stalled because of the initiation of corporate insolvency proceedings. The merger, which has been in the making longer than the time lines originally indicated by Zee, has been approved by Zee’s shareholders and India’s antitrust regulator. BLOOMBERG