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Sony Calls Off Merger with Zee in India

Deadline reported on Monday that Sony has terminated its plans for a US$10 billion merger with Zee Entertainment. The merger was planned to combine the television and streaming operations of the media companies in India, but Sony called off the deal stating that closing conditions were not satisfied,

The National Company Law Tribunal had cleared the deal in August. Bloomberg had reported on January 8 that Sony was looking to call off the merger as the companies were unable to reach an agreement on the allocation of leadership roles within the combined group after completion. Zee Entertainment had stated on January 19 that it was working toward a successful closure of the deal with Sony.

Sony stated that it does not anticipate the termination of the merger to have any material impact on its consolidated financial results. The company had not included the deal in its forecasts for the fiscal year.

Sony's Funimation Global Group completed its acquisition of Crunchyroll from AT&T on August 9, 2021, after the company first announced the acquisition in December 2020. In addition to Crunchyroll, Sony owns the subsidiary anime production companies A-1 Pictures and CloverWorks through Aniplex.

Crunchyroll began streaming several of its anime titles in India on March 1, 2022. Funimation and Crunchyroll announced on the same day that Funimation and Wakanim's anime library and simulcast content had moved to Crunchyroll. The company appointed Rahul Purini as CEO in April 2022 after several years as COO of Funimation. It announced its first slate of Hindi and Indian English dubs in November 2022 as it introduced subscription tiers for Indian audiences and it launched a UPI (United Payment Interface) option for Indian subscribers in September.

Crunchyroll entered a partnership with brand licensing agency Black White Orange to oversee and manage licensing merchandise programs in India in October.

Source: Deadline (Nancy Tartaglione)