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Zee board approves swap ratio for acquisition of 9X

Zee will continue to operate the channel under the 9X brand

Zee board approves swap ratio for acquisition of 9X
Zee board approves swap ratio for acquisition of 9X
Zee board approves swap ratio for acquisition of 9X
The board of directors of Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL), in its meeting on April 29, has approved the Scheme of Arrangement between the Company and INX Media, under the provisions of Section 391-394 of the Companies Act, 1956. General entertainment channel 9X will be demerged from INX and vested in to the company. The proposed acquisition will be funded by issuance of new shares by ZEEL to shareholders of INX.

The share swap ratio has been proposed at 1 (one) equity share of Re 1each of ZEEL for every 71 (seventy one) equity shares of Rs 10 each of INX held by the shareholders of INX, as on June 30, 2010. ZEEL will also take over the liability of Rs 600 million.

Commenting on the acquisition, Subhash Chandra, chairperson, ZEEL, says, "With this acquisition, we hope to be able to expand our presence in the Hindi GEC space. We will also explore the opportunity to take this content to our international markets."

Punit Goenka, chief executive officer, ZEEL, says, "While Zee has a dominant presence in the Hindi GEC genre, we have been looking at an opportunity to add to our offering and create better value. This acquisition will allow us a good opportunity to exploit better synergies across the entertainment genre."

The approvals will take a minimum of 5-6 months. Subsequently, ZEEL will continue to operate the channel under the 9X brand and look at improving connect with viewers. Speaking to afaqs! about what shape the channel will take, Atul Das, executive vice-president, corporate strategy and business development, ZEEL, says, "In the short run, 9X will run like a second GEC in the group, without any big investments to begin with. We have also acquired about 1200 hours of programming from 9X, which we will air in other markets."

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