IPRS withdraws insolvency plea against Zee Entertainment
In fresh relief to Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd, the Indian Performing Right Society Limited (IPRS) has withdrawn the insolvency petition against the broadcaster after both the parties reached a settlement, Zee Entertainment informed the exchanges on Monday.
“…we wish to update you that the Company and IPRS have entered into a settlement agreement by which all disputes and claims have been settled between the Company and IPRS and accordingly IPRS has agreed to withdraw the aforesaid insolvency petition filed by them,” Zee Entertainment said in the exchange filings.
Indian Performing Right Society Limited had filed the insolvency petition under Section 9 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) against Zee for defaulting on a payment of Rs 211 crore.
The IPRS is a representative body of owners of music, viz. composers, lyricists (or authors) and the publishers of music and is also the sole authorized body to issue licences for usage of musical works & literary music within India.
Recently, the Punit Goenka-led company got a reprieve from the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) as the appellate tribunal stayed another insolvency petition filed by IndusInd Bank, which was admitted by the National Company Law tribunal (NCLT) on 22 February 2023.
The bank has filed the plea against Zee Entertainment for defaulting on a payment of Rs 83.08 crore. The tribunal had also appointed Sanjay Kumar Jhalani as the interim resolution professional.
Earlier, IDBI Bank had also filed insolvency petition against Zee Entertainment.
ZEEL recently merged with Sony Pictures Network India after the final go-ahead from the Competition Commission of India (CCI), which has raised several market dominance related concerns over the merger. The company had to agree to sell three of its Hindi entertainment channels — Big Magic, Zee Action and Zee Classic – to address the concerns raised by CII.
But even before the merger met regulatory hurdles, ZEEL’s minority shareholders – Invesco Group – had vehemently opposed the merger. The foreign institutional investor had even tried to force the MD and CEO Punit Goenka to step down from the post. However, Zee Entertainment managed to sailed through those opposition to not only complete the merger but also retain its MD and CEO.
Another Zee group company – Zee Learn – is also facing insolvency proceedings after NCLT admitted the insolvency application filed by Yes Bank after the former defaulted on a payment of Rs 469 crore.
