Is the winter of discontent over for Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd chairman Subhash Chandra?

Thursday was the final meltdown for Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL). In a series of block deals, chairman and founder Subhash Chandra and his family sold 15.7 per cent of their promoter holding to institutional investors, reducing their stake to just 5 per cent.

The sell-off raised Rs 4,343 crore, which will go towards repaying creditors with whom Chandra’s holding company had run up defaults of over Rs 7,000 crore.

The family is keen to keep management control, but left with such a tiny holding, will they manage to hang on? As of now, yes, as the largest single shareholder Invesco Oppenheimer Fund, which has 18.7 per cent, is supporting Chandra. This year has been a rough ride for India’s broadcasting pioneer.