Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) is in discussions for potential merger and acquisition (M&A) deals in India after the collapse of its merger deal with Zee Entertainment, the company’s chairman and CEO Tony Vinciquerra said during its Business Segment Meeting 2024 today.
The SPE boss also said that the merger deal between its India unit, Sony Pictures Networks India (SPNI), and Zee couldn’t go through due to regulatory issues and the deterioration of the Indian entertainment giant’s financials.
“We have several other conversations (M&A) going on right now that could or might possibly end up in something that will help us in the marketplace. We are not concerned about our survival, as we have a very good business there. We will survive, and we will do well,” Vinciquerra said in response to a question about the company’s strategy in India following the failed merger deal with Zee.
Apart from the failed merger with Zee, SPE’s India arm had also held discussions with Viacom18 in 2020 to combine the two businesses.
Of late, the industry has also been abuzz over the possibility of a strategic alliance between Sony and Kalanithi Maran’s Sun TV Network. Experts believe the Sony-Sun deal is logical due to minimal overlap, as Sony primarily operates in the Hindi Speaking Market and Sun TV is a dominant player in South India.
In the past, private discussions between two companies ended in a stalemate due to both parties’ unwillingness to relinquish control, say sources aware of those discussions.
Sony terminated its merger with Zee over alleged unfulfilled conditions by Zee and the dispute over the leadership of the proposed merged entity. The company has also sought $90 million in termination fees from Zee. The latter has also asked Sony to pay $90 million in termination fees over the failed merger deal.
“The Zee situation would have been great. It took a very long time to get regulatory approval, and within that time, unfortunately, the Zee business deteriorated quite substantially,” he added.
In January, SPNI MD & CEO NP Singh had told employees that the company would pursue organic and inorganic opportunities to strengthen its position in the Indian market.
Vinciquerra also said that the company is considering multiple candidates to replace its incumbent CEO, NP Singh, amidst media speculation that the company has already zeroed in on his successor.
“We just announced that our CEO is retiring, and we are looking to replace him very aggressively. We have a long list of very good candidates that we can choose from to lead that business,” he stated.
According to Vinciquerra, the merger between Reliance Industries’ Viacom18 and Walt Disney’s Star India will give the company some time to re-establish its India business.
“We have a very large competitor who is merging with another of our large competitors. The regulatory process will probably take some time, which we think will give us some opportunity in that short time to reestablish and reenergise our business to compete very strongly,” he said.
According to financial data sourced from Tofler, SPNI, which is now known as Culver Max Entertainment, reported 11% growth in consolidated net profit at Rs 1042 crore in FY23.
The company, which operates 26 TV channels and the SonyLIV streaming platform, recorded revenue of Rs 6684 crore, a 0.66% decline from last year.
