A bankruptcy court on Thursday allowed IndusInd Bank’s application to withdraw insolvency proceedings against Zee Entertainment Enterprises (ZEE) after both parties decided to settle the dispute amicably. The division bench of members HV Subba Rao and Madhu Sinha, in an oral order, allowed the private sector lender’s withdrawal application.
Before that, Peshwan Jehangir, partner at law firm Khaitan & Co, while appearing for the private sector lender, told the tribunal that the bank has already filed an application to withdraw the petition.
“We have settled the dispute with IndusInd Bank and now only two objectors are left,” argued senior counsel Janak Dwarkadas, along with Nitesh Jain, partner at law firm Trilegal on behalf of Zee Entertainment.
“These objectors are also not creditors of the company.”
The Mumbai bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has now posted the matter about the approval of the merger between Zee Entertainment and Sony Group’s subsidiary for April 13, 2023.
Earlier on Wednesday, ZEE and IndusInd Bank informed the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) that the two companies had reached a settlement in relation to their payment dispute, paving the way for the Sony deal.
In a regulatory filing, ZEE had said there is no penalty paid and no material impact on the financial position of the company. IndusInd had opposed the Sony-Zee merger deal while seeking recovery of dues worth ‘83.08 crore from the entertainment company.
The NCLT had earlier ordered ZEE be taken into administration following a plea by IndusInd Bank. On February 24, NCLAT granted interim relief to the company by staying the bankruptcy proceedings.
