NEW DELHI, May 24 (Xinhua) -- Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. (ZEEL), an Indian media and entertainment company, has demanded a termination fee of 90 million U.S. dollars from the Sony Group for calling off a 10-billion-dollar merger deal in January this year, company officials said Friday.

In a regulatory filing on Thursday, the ZEEL has sought termination fees from two Sony Group entities -- Culver Max Entertainment Private Limited and Bangla Entertainment Private Limited (BEPL).

As per the filing, the ZEEL terminated the Merger Cooperation Agreement (MCA) due to breaches by Culver Max and the BEPL.

"Culver Max and BEPL have failed to comply with their obligations under the MCA. Therefore, the company has terminated the MCA and called upon Culver Max and BEPL to pay the termination fee i.e. the aggregate amount equal to 90 million U.S. dollars in accordance with the MCA," reads the filing.

In January this year, Sony announced the termination of the deal with the ZEEL after accusing the company of not meeting closing conditions even after extending their closing period by a month.

The merger deal announced on Dec. 22, 2021, was set to combine dozens of television channels, film assets and two streaming platforms.

Sony initiated arbitration proceedings at the Singapore International Arbitration Center (SIAC), seeking a termination fee of 90 million dollars. The ZEEL contested this at the SIAC, which denied any interim relief to Sony against the Indian company.

The ZEEL also filed a petition before the Mumbai bench of the National Company Law Tribunal, seeking implementation of the proposed merger but later withdrew its plea. Enditem

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