The Board of ZEE Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL) has appointed an independent advisory committee to provide guidance on the measures and future course of action to protect the interests of the stakeholders of the company.
Also read: Zee Entertainment denies reports of financial irregularities amidst stock decline
“The committee will enable it to review and take cognisance of the widespread circulation of misinformation, market rumours, and speculation that has led to the formation of negative public opinion about the company and consequent erosion of investor wealth,” said a press statement.
The committee will be presided by Satish Chandra, a former Judge of the High Court of Allahabad, and will comprise of two Independent Directors of the company — Uttam Prakash Agarwal and PVR Murthy.
“The committee will independently provide guidance on the measures and future course of action that the Board is required to take, in order to protect the interests of all the stakeholders of the company. The Board will seek expert guidance of the committee on the aforementioned matters from time to time,” said the press release.
Legal issues
The move follows breakdown of merger talks between Zee and Sony, which has led to a legal wrangle between the two sides. Some of the minority shareholders of Zee have taken a view that the merger would have been the best course of action for the company. Zee itself has filed an application in NCLT, seeking an order asking Sony to comply with the merger agreement. However, the bigger worry for Zee could be the ongoing investigations being undertaken by SEBI against Punit Goenka and Subhash Chandra. Zee stocks crashed earlier this week after Bloomberg reported that the market regulator has unearthed a major accounting fraud. Zee has denied these allegations.