In a major development, Essel Group has decided to divest up to 50% of promoter holding in India’s leading entertainment company Zee Entertainment EnterprisesNSE -0.86 % (ZEE).
Essel has decided to appoint Goldman Sachs as their investment banker and LionTree as international strategic advisor for this exercise.
The company expects the outcome of the strategic review to be concluded by March/April 2019.
The move, Essel Group said, is to address the capital allocation priorities and will allow ZEE shareholders to capture the full value.
As of September 30, promoter holding in ZEE was at 41.6%, out of which 59% shares are currently pledged.
Essel group said that India remains a priority market for promoter Subhash Chandra and the Essel Group and the family believes that India is at the cusp of significant growth.
The decision was taken by Chandra and family along with its advisors, who met in Mumbai recently to undertake a strategic review of its businesses in view of the changing global media landscape.
“The strategic review underscored the importance of technological advancements… There is informed recognition that the world is convergent today and the lines across media, telecom, manufacturing and technology are thinner than ever. It was observed that these developments will impact virtually all businesses across sectors and business practices will be driven by technological innovation. The review showed that the family needs to accelerate efforts to stay ahead of fast changing trends,” the company said.
