ZEE terminates 9X Media acquisition

MUMBAI: 9X Media’s promoters’ wait to sell off the company is turning into a never-ending saga.

In the latest development, Zee Entertainment Enterprises (ZEE) has terminated the acquisition of the music broadcaster announced in October last year.

Replying to an ET query, a ZEE spokesperson said that the deal has been “terminated/called-off” by ZEE due to “non-completion of certain material conditions precedent”.

Subhash Chandra-promoted ZEE had agreed to pick up 100% stake in 9X Media and its subsidiary INX Music for a total cash consideration of Rs 160 crore.

Later, ZEE had extended the long-stop date to facilitate the investee entities of 9X Media to comply with certain conditions precedent(s) for conclusion of the acquisition transaction.

Email query sent to Pradeep Guha, managing director, 9X Media, did not elicit any response till the time of filing this report.

New Silk Route, which owns about 80% stake in 9x Media, has been looking to exit the company since 2013 after first investing in the then known as INX Media, over 10 years back.

In 2016, the company initiated talks with Sony Pictures Networks India, which agreed to buy 9X Media for over Rs 200 crore. However, after due diligence, some legacy taxation issues were discovered, which could not be sorted out and SPN decided to walk out of the negotiations. Later, in April 2017, ZEE and 9X Media started talking on the acquisition, which was finally announced on October 6.

9X Media operates a bouquet of six music channels - 9XM (latest Bollywood music), 9X Jalwa (Evergreen Hindi), 9X Bajao (Hindi Classics), 9XO (English), 9X Jhakaas (Marathi music), and 9X Tashan (Punjabi music). It also has a digital product, SpotboyE, offering Bollywood's news, gossip, movie reviews and other updates.

At the time of deal announcement, Punit Goenka, MD, ZEE, had mentioned that the acquisition follows ZEE’s stated strategy of expanding into regional markets and niche genres. “9X Media’s six music channels enjoy leading market shares in their respective segments and will further strengthen our entertainment offering to the consumer. The channels will benefit immensely from our network’s strength to achieve higher growth potential and cost synergies,” Goenka had said.