Zee, Sony unit merger gets approval from India competition regulator

INDIA’S competition regulator on Tuesday (Oct 4) approved a merger between the Indian unit of Japan’s Sony and Zee Entertainment Enterprises that will create a US$10-billion TV behemoth, but with certain conditions.

The Competition Commission of India did not elabourate on the conditions. Sony said it would wait for remaining regulatory approvals to launch the merged company, while Zee did not respond to a request for comment.

Zee and Sony had offered concessions such as pricing discounts to help ease concerns of the regulator over their merger, sources told Reuters last month.

The antitrust regulator had in August warned of further scrutiny of the deal, saying their “humongous market position” would allow them to enjoy “un-parallelled bargaining power” with 92 channels in India’s massive media and entertainment market.

Sony and Zee decided to merge their television channels, film assets and streaming platforms in December last year to create a powerhouse in a key growth market of 1.4 billion people, to take on the likes of Netflix and Disney in India. REUTERS