Sign up for afaqs! Newsletters
Zee will continue to operate the channel under the 9X brand
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."