Axis Finance and IDBI Bank withdraw petitions against Zee-Sony merger before NCLAT

Delhi: Axis Finance, IDBI Bank, and IDBI Trusteeship Services have withdrawn their petitions before the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) challenging the NCLT order approving the merger of Zee Entertainment with Sony Pictures Networks India in New Delhi, India.

The NCLAT granted the withdrawal request as the NCLT had already withdrawn its earlier order of merger. This news was released after the settlement of the dispute between Zee Entertainment and Sony Pictures Networks India in which they agreed to withdraw all the claims against each other.

The USD 10 billion merger that was the subject of the dispute was initially approved by the NCLT in August 2023. This, however, was met with opposition from several financial institutions, such as IDBI Trusteeship, IDBI Bank, Axis Finance, JC Flowers Asset Reconstruction Co, and IMAX Corp.

In the wake of the NCLT's decision, IDBI and Axis Finance took the matter up before the NCLAT.