The NCLT accepted on Tuesday a petition from Mad Men Film Ventures, a shareholder of Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd., regarding the merger with Sony Group Corp.'s Indian subsidiary that has been terminated.
Mad Men approached the National Company Law Tribunal, urging both Zee and Sony to move forward with the merger, which had received approval from the tribunal last August.
The shareholder's advocate argued for the immediate implementation of the merger, emphasising that NCLT had already sanctioned the proposal.
However, Sony's counsel contested this, citing a conditional approval clause in the merger cooperation agreement, which stipulates that NCLT's approval is subject to various conditions, which may be fulfilled or waived off in writing.
During the course of the hearing, Sony also contended that Mad Men was a proxy party on behalf of Zee.
The court dismissed Sony's contentions and questioned the adjudicating authority responsible for determining whether the specified conditions were met.
It ruled that NCLT would be the adjudicating authority in this matter and issued a notice to Sony, instructing them to respond to the shareholder's petition within three weeks.
The next hearing is scheduled for March 12, where further deliberations on the merger and fulfillment of conditions are expected to take place.
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