Investors will take final call on Zee leadership: Punit Goenka

MUMBAI: Zee Entertainment Enterprises managing director and chief executive Punit Goenka said he has not discussed his reappointment with any shareholder, even as his five-year term is set to end in December.

"So, at the end of the day, it is the shareholders who will decide whether I am the right person or not, or whether somebody else needs to lead this company," Goenka told analysts during the company's Q4 earnings call on Friday.

Domestic institutional investors own a 35.56% stake in the company as of March 2024. Some of the top investors include ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund and HDFC Mutual Fund.

Goenka, who is part of the promoter family that holds a 4% stake, is the longest-serving CEO of Zee. In 2019, Goenka was reappointed as the MD and CEO of the entertainment giant, beginning January 2020.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India is investigating Goenka and his father, Subhash Chandra, for allegedly diverting the entertainment company's funds to promoter-owned firms.

In August 2023, the capital market regulator passed a confirmatory order against Goenka and Chandra, barring them from holding directorships or top managerial roles in Zee.

The Securities Appellate Tribunal lifted Sebi's ban order against Goenka in October last year while allowing the regulator to continue its probe against the Zee promoters.

The Sebi investigation against Goenka was a key reason for the failure of the merger deal between Zee and Sony Pictures Networks India. Sony was averse to having him as the CEO of the proposed merged entity and instead wanted its executive, NP Singh, to lead it.

Sony terminated its merger agreement with Zee in January this year. Recently, Zee also withdrew its application from the National Company Law Tribunal that sought the implementation of the merger agreement.

"This decision (withdrawing the petition) will enable the company to sharply focus on growth and strategic opportunities in order to generate higher value for all shareholders," Goenka said, adding that the company will continue to contest Sony's $90 million termination fee demand before the Singapore International Arbitration Centre.

Goenka said his single-minded focus is to ensure that the company achieves its 18-20% Ebitda target by FY26. Zee has terminated 15% of the staff and cut down investments in the technology centre and content, as part of efforts to reduce cost.

"We have been implementing a series of steps since the latter half of the quarter, the results of which will reflect on the bottom line in the financial year 2025," Goenka said.