Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. (ZEEL)on Friday said that the company’s equity shareholders have approved the proposed merger of ZEEL and Bangla Entertainment Pvt. Ltd. with and into Culver Max Entertainment Pvt. Ltd. (formerly Sony Pictures Networks India Pvt. Ltd.), an indirect unit of Japan’s Sony Group.

According to a regulatory filing made by Zee, “The company convened the meeting of its equity shareholders on 14th October 2022 to seek approval for the proposed merger. The resolution put forth during the meeting pertaining to the proposed merger was whole-heartedly supported by 99.99% of  ZEEL’s equity shareholders.”

The approval marks yet another firm and positive step forward in the overall merger completion process.

ZEEl MD and CEO Punit Goenka said, “On behalf of all the Board members and management of ZEEL, I would like to thank the equity shareholders of the company for recognising the value-accretive opportunities the proposed merger will deliver to all stakeholders. The continued trust and overwhelming support by our equity shareholders towards the resolution of the Composite Scheme of Arrangement further strengthen our abilities to consistently deliver higher value as we move forward in this process.”

After some initial reservations, the Competition Commission of India (CCI), vide its communication dated October 4, 2022, had given the go-ahead to the merger process after the two broadcasting companies agreed to some concessions.

Zee added Friday the Composite Scheme of Arrangement continues to be subject to applicable regulatory and other approvals.

Meanwhile, earlier in September, SPNI/Culver Max and Zee Entertainment had proposed offering concessions such as pricing discounts to help ease concerns of the country’s antitrust regulator over their merger, which will create a $10-billion TV behemoth, Reuters had reported.

The concessions were a bid to iron out antitrust worries of the Competition Commission of India, which in an August 3 notice warned the companies of further scrutiny, saying their “humongous market position” would allow them to enjoy “un-paralleled bargaining power” with 92 channels in India’s massive media and entertainment market.

In particular, the CCI was concerned over how big an impact on competition the merged entity would have in terms of advertising and channel pricing, particularly in the popular Hindi language segment. Legal experts and former CCI officials said such scrutiny was set to delay the deal approval process, the Reuters report had added.

Sony and Zee in December decided to merge their television channels, film assets and streaming platforms to create a powerhouse in a key growth market of 1.4 billion people that will challenge rivals like Walt Disney Co.