Punit Goenka of Zee Entertainment says due diligence for Sony merger likely to complete ahead of time

Due diligence process has commenced and is in steady progress after the in-principle approval received by the Board, said Zee Entertainment's MD and CEO, Punit Goenka on proposed merger with Sony.

"We are confident that the process will complete within the stipulated timeline or even before that post which we will move with our next step as mandated by the law. Proceeding is very well on track," he said during Q2 FY22 investor call.

According to a media reports, the firms are planning to complete the process three weeks ahead of the 90-day deadline set by the two broadcasters. However, Goenka did not divulge further details on completion of due diligence.

Zee had announced merger with Sony on September 22 and had entered into an exclusivity with the other party for 90 days to conduct the due diligence. This means the two companies have time till December to complete the process but it is estimated that they could complete the process by end of November.

On the business front, Goenka said that Q2 of FY22 has been of recovery but there was some effect of the second wave on the first half of the second quarter in the current financial year.