Sony-Zee Merger Termination: Concerns for Unilever, P&G; likely cheer for Ambani

Sony Group Corp.’s decision to walk away from a $10 billion Indian media merger will put large advertisers such as Unilever Plc and Procter & Gamble Co. in a bind. To reach the country’s 1.4 billion population they may have no option except to go through a prospective rival.

The Japanese media giant’s local unit has sent a termination letter to Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. What probably sank the deal was the insistence by Punit Goenka, Zee’s chief executive officer, that he should lead the post-merger entity.