Zee Entertainment Shares Surge As Major Insolvency Dispute Settlement Gets Underway

Zee Entertainment Enterprises (ZEEL) entered into a settlement agreement with operational creditor IPRS (Indian Performing Right Society), putting to bed any insolvency proceedings against the company at the moment.

What Happened? ZEEL and IPRS were in a dispute over dues worth ₹211 crore that the entertainment giant was supposed to pay up.

In its regulatory filing on Monday, ZEEL said, “The Company and Indian Performing Right Society Limited ("IPRS”) have mutually entered into the settlement agreement today on such agreed terms by which all disputes and claims have been settled between the Company and IPRS and accordingly IPRS has agreed to withdraw the aforesaid insolvency petition filed by them.”

“Settlement terms are as per the settlement agreement entered into by the Company and IPRS. There is no penalty paid and no material impact on the financial position of the company,” stated the filing.

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The IPRS, which is a representative body of music owners and composers who collect royalties on behalf of artists, filed an insolvency petition with the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) back in January.

In filing for insolvency, the artist group claimed that Zee was in arrears with royalties due to the use of "literary and musical works." In a pre-deal response, the media company denied the allegation, saying IPRS' claim did not fit the law's interpretation of royalties payments for literary and musical works.he

Price Action: ZEEL shares were trading 0.64% higher at ₹196.60 on Wednesday, shortly after markets opened for trading.

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