Zee Entertainment Enterprises announced on Wednesday that the broadcaster was the target of arbitration proceedings started by Walt Disney’s Star India.
This comes after the Zee-Sony agreement was terminated. Zee decided to break the original 2022 agreement, which covered the coverage of the ICC men’s and under-19 championships.
“We hereby inform you that, on March 14, 2024, Star India Private Limited (‘Star’) has initiated arbitration proceedings against the Company, under the alliance agreement dated August 26, 2022 entered between Star and the company, by filing a request for arbitration,” Zee Entertainment mentioned in an exchange filing today.
Zee’s shares dropped more than 3.47 percent during Friday’s market session in response to its news today. On March 15, Zee Ent shares finished at ₹141.80, up from the previous close of ₹146.90.
Star India’s claim, submitted under the London Court of International Arbitration’s Arbitration Rules, states that Zee is allegedly in breach of the conditions outlined in the August 26, 2022, agreement.
Conversely, Zee asserts that Star India breached the contract and, as a result, has made a claim for 685.4 million rupees ($8.3 million), which it revealed on February 13th when it revealed its quarterly results.
“The company, based on its preliminary assessment of the Application, and on legal advice received, disagrees with the averments made by Star in the Application and will be filing appropriate response to the said Application, make counterclaims and undertake such actions, as may be required,” Zee further added.
Disney and Reliance have just announced a merger with the objective of creating a $8.5 billion media empire in the country, despite the Zee-Sony merger falling through.
