Zee Entertainment Enterprises: Company History, Zee Stake Sale, Share Price & New Updates

Written by Rayden Sam Posted on 2024-01-24

Zee Stake Sale is an announcement the company provides for its shareholdings and equity sale.

Stake sale – Invesco, Zee Entertainment

Invesco, a US investment firm, is scheduled to reduce its stake in India’s Zee Entertainment by more than a third to 11 percent, only days after abandoning an attempt to shake up the Indian media company’s management.

The revenues from the equity sale, according to Zee Entertainment, would be used to repay liabilities totaling Rs 13,000 crore that the Essel group owns across multiple group firms.

Following the share transaction, Invesco now owns around 11% of Zee. Sony Pictures inked a binding deal to combine with Zee in December 2021. Sony will own the majority of the combined company.

For Rs 2,092 crore, Invesco Oppenheimer Developing Markets Fund sold a 7.74 percent interest in Zee Entertainment Enterprises (Zee). According to stock market records, it sold around 74.32 million shares for Rs 281.46 each. According to statistics, according to Morgan Stanley Asia purchased 10.2 million shares for Rs 287 crore, while Segantii India purchased 9.9 million shares for Rs 278 crore.

Zee Promoters Raise Funds Via Stake Sale

Several international firms, including New York-based BlackRock, Singapore-based GIC, HSBC Global, Citigroup, Morgan Stanley Asia, Vanguard, and Wellington Management, have acquired holdings in Zee Entertainment Enterprises after promoters sold stock to settle debts. On Thursday, shares of India’s largest listed media firm were sold in block trades on the NSE for Rs 304 each. While the promoters own only 5% of the firm, the transactions earned more than Rs 4,500 crore to repay lenders.

Why is Invesco selling Zee?

On Thursday, Invesco Developing Markets, Zee Entertainment Enterprises’ largest stakeholder, would sell 7.8 percent of the company in block agreements totaling Rs 2,200 crore. Invesco owns 18.8 percent of Zee and has backed the combination of Zee and Sony Entertainment.

In September of last year, Invesco submitted a notice to Zee requesting a change in the board of directors, alleging corporate governance shortcomings. Both parties were disputing in the courts when Zee transferred them. Invesco backed Zee’s merger with Sony Entertainment in December, even though judicial issues were ongoing at the NCLT.

In a statement, Invesco stated that the goal of this transaction is to align these funds’ exposure to Zee with other funds managed by the investment team, as well as to accomplish an aggregate ownership position in the company that is more consistent with the investment team’s portfolio construction approach.