The Indian mega-merger between Sony’s TV operations in India and Zee Entertainment has been given the greenlight, paving the way for a $10B TV partnership.According to Reuters, people present at a regulatory hearing said on Thursday a key approval had been given. Zee’s shares were up 10% after the National Company Law Tribunal cleared the deal.The mega-merger will create an Indian media giant, with the bringing together of the two companies’ linear TV networks, digital assets, production operations and program libraries. Sony will provide a large cash injection and control a majority share stake of close to 51%.The merger has been in the offing for two years but has hit several regulatory roadblocks. It triggered worries after the Securities and Exchange Board of India banned Zee bosses Subhash Chandra and Punit Goenka from the boardrooms of listed companies for a year.Sony said recently it was taking the interim regulatory order very seriously but planned to push on with the merger. These roadblocks appear now to have officially been cleared.Last year, Zee and Sony offered concessions to help ease regulatory concerns and received antitrust approval for the merged entity, which will compete with Walt Disney India and the Mukesh Ambani-owned Network18.
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