Axis Finance and IDBI Withdraw Petitions at NCLAT Following Zee-Sony Merger Conclusion

Axis Finance, IDBI Bank, and IDBI Trusteeship Services have unsociable their petitions from the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) challenging the NCLT's acceptance of the merger between Zee Entertainment and Sony Pictures Networks India. The NCLAT accepted the withdrawal, acknowledging that the NCLT had already retracted its previous order from August 10, 2023, which had approved the merger.

Earlier in September 2024, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. (ZEEL) officially removed its composite scheme of arrangement with Culver Max Entertainment and Bangla Entertainment Private Limited (BEPL) after reaching a final settlement, which was approved by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT). This decision allowed for the withdrawal of the scheme and the retraction of the NCLT's earlier authorized order from August 10, 2023, concerning the scheme. In August 2024, Zee and Sony announced they had reached a comprehensive non-cash settlement, effectively resolving all disputes related to the Merger Cooperation Agreement and the Composite Scheme of Arrangement.

In its filing with stock exchanges, ZEEL stated that the merger, which was originally approved in August 2023, has now been terminated by mutual consent. 

As part of the settlement, both companies have agreed to withdraw all claims against each other in the ongoing arbitration at the Singapore International Arbitration Centre, as well as in related legal proceedings initiated in the NCLT and other forums.

The NCLT in Mumbai approved the retraction of the merger order on September 5, 2024, permitting Zee to withdraw the scheme.