Sony killed the $10B Zee merger after two years over who would run it

On 21 September 2021 Zee Entertainment's board unanimously approved a $10 billion merger with Sony Pictures Networks India. The combined company would have had 74 channels, with Sony holding about 53%, and would have been India's fourth-largest media group after Google, Meta and Disney-Star — Zee brought an 18% entertainment market share, Sony 6%.

The deal spent two years clearing regulators and fighting creditors. Then on 12 June 2023 SEBI barred Zee chairman Subhash Chandra and CEO Punit Goenka from managerial positions over alleged fund siphoning. The ban on Goenka was lifted by the tribunal on 30 October, but Sony's trust was gone — by November it wanted its own India chief, NP Singh, to lead the merged entity.

In January 2024 Goenka offered to step down, but refused to accept NP Singh as his successor. On 22 January Sony sent a termination notice: closing conditions had not been met by the deadline and the sides could not agree on an extension.

Zee's shares fell 13%, their worst day since February 2023. The original pact carried a $100 million break fee, but the clause had lapsed with the December deadline — Sony later claimed $90 million, a dispute the two sides eventually settled.

Sony walked when Zee's CEO refused to accept its own man as successor, and the SEBI probe had already broken trust; Zee shares fell 13% in a day.

The merger's success depended on the CEO question, and the two sides answered it differently: Sony wanted its own man, Zee's promoter refused to hand the company over.

The SEBI probe into alleged fund siphoning made the governance risk official — once the regulator had barred the CEO, no commercial deadline could repair the trust.

Sony was the stronger partner, so it could walk: the collapse hurt Zee (a 13% one-day fall) far more than Sony, whose own results were unaffected.

Sony wanted the deal without Zee's CEO; Zee's promoter wanted the merged company. Once a regulator probe made that conflict official, two years of work collapsed in weeks.

Sony walked away on 22 January 2024 and said the termination would not materially affect its results. Zee was left to restructure alone, still facing creditor petitions and legal appeals, while Disney and Reliance merged their Indian media businesses without either company in the deal. Sony's $90 million termination claim was later settled between the parties.