ZEE MD says will continue to take steps to safeguard company, its future

Zee Entertainment MD and CEO Punit Goenka on Thursday said he will continue to take required steps to safeguard the company and its future under the guidance of its board, amid the escalating fight with the media major's largest shareholder Invesco which has called for his removal from office.

Breaking his silence after almost a month since the boardroom war began, Goenka questioned the intention of Invesco while pointing fingers at the investment firm over corporate governance for not making public a proposed deal Reliance Industries earlier.

"Why didn't Invesco make its plans public earlier?... Does good corporate governance only apply to corporates and not their institutional investors?," Goenka said in a statement.

Invesco along with OFI Global China Fund LLC hold a 17.88 per cent stake in Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL) and have been pressing for an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) to discuss various issues, including the removal of Goenka and appointment of its nominees on the company's board.

According to Goenka, the fight with Invesco is to ensure ZEEL continues to gain immense growth opportunities and become a stronger and more formidable player in the media and entertainment sector.

Goenka stressed that he would not let anyone impact the future of ZEEL or diminish the shareholder value it has been consistently generating over the years.

"My demeanour is not to indulge in an ill-natured fight. Such battles are best handled by legal experts. All I am contending for, is to preserve the future of this company, and not my position," he said.

Goenka said the deal negotiated with Reliance, which however could not be fructified, was advanced by Invesco, and later he presented the fact before ZEEL board to "bring the truth out in the interest of all our stakeholders".

"I acknowledge the stance that has been taken by Invesco but communications pertaining to such proposals are always well-documented, and they speak to the contrary. I too have a lot of points to put across but I firmly believe that there is a right time and place for it," he said.

He did not disclose further details saying the company's lawyers will do the needful in the court of law as deemed necessary.

On Wednesday, Invesco said it had tried to facilitate a possible deal between Reliance and the company but refuted claims it had pushed for the transaction at a lower valuation.

The statement from Invesco came a day after Goenka told the company's board that Invesco had come with a proposal in February for a merger with certain entities owned by a large Indian group (Strategic Group) with an inflated valuation "by at least Rs 10,000 crore".

Invesco, in its statement on Wednesday, mentioned that Reliance was the large Indian group. ZEEL, in its filing to the stock exchanges on Tuesday, had not disclosed the name of the group.

On Wednesday, Reliance Industries, in a statement, said Invesco had in February/March this year assisted in arranging discussions with Goenka. However, differences arose between Goenka and Invesco with respect to a requirement of the founding family for increasing their stake by subscribing to preferential warrants, it had said.

In his statement on Thursday, Goenka said that during his briefing to the board, he emphasised on the points pertaining to the proposal from Invesco.

"My attention was on the imbalance observed in the valuation and how it was not in the best interest of our shareholders. The only reason I did not agree to the proposal was because the shareholder value was getting compromised. I will withstand any amount of pressure to preserve ZEE's intrinsic value and ensure that nothing impacts the returns being delivered to all the shareholders," he said.

Further, Goenka said he will ensure that no one maligns the intrinsic value of ZEEL for its own benefit and continue to pursue this in the best interests of all shareholders, and "at immense personal costs".

"In this situation, it is not about one versus the other. The shareholders and management of a company are two sides of the same coin. It is all about increasing the value of that coin together, for the betterment of all the shareholders and the company at large," he said.

While acknowledging the "extremely strong support" provided by Invesco, Goenka regretted that this "relationship going sour" and both are now facing "unfortunate circumstances".