Zee Entertainment shares continue to decline; fall over 5 per cent in morning trade

NEW DELHI: Shares of Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL) extended its previous day decline in morning trade on Friday, falling over 5 per cent, after the National Company Law Tribunal admitted an IndusInd Bank plea for insolvency proceedings against the media firm.

The stock declined 4.60 per cent to Rs 189.60 on the BSE. At the NSE, it fell 5.36 per cent to Rs 188. Shares of Zee Entertainment had declined over 3 per cent on Thursday.

Zee Enterprises' managing director and chief executive Puneet Goenka on Thursday moved appellate tribunal NCLAT challenging the order of the National Company Law Tribunal which admitted an IndusInd Bank plea for insolvency proceedings against the firm.

The appeal seeking relief against the National Company Law Tribunal's Mumbai bench order was filed by Goenka in the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) on Thursday, as per an official statement from the company.

"Goenka is taking all the necessary steps as per law to protect the interests of all stakeholders of Zee Entertainment Enterprises and to achieve a timely completion of the proposed merger with Culver Max Entertainment," the statement said.

The matter pertains to a default of Rs 89 crore by Zee Group's multisystem operator arm Siti Networks claimed by IndusInd Bank, for which ZEEL was a guarantor.

The private sector lender has also filed a separate insolvency petition against Siti Networks at the NCLT. The NCLT has appointed Mohit Mehra as the resolution professional in this matter.

The development comes at a time when ZEEL is in advanced stages of merging with Culver Max Entertainment (Sony) in one of the biggest deals in the media and entertainment sector.