Zee promoters to sell 11% stake to Invesco Oppenheimer Fund for Rs 4,224 crore

Mumbai: The promoters of Zee Entertainment Enterprises (ZEE) will sell an 11% stake in the media company to US-based financial investor Invesco Oppenheimer Developing Markets Fund for a consideration of Rs 4,224 crore. The move, spurning an offer by a Comcast-led group, follows a nine-month search for a buyer as the parent Essel Group seeks to reduce debt by selling assets. The promoters are confident of selling a further 9% stake in ZEE by the September 30 deadline for debt repayments.

The fund, which is registered with the US Securities & Exchange Commission, has been a financial investor in ZEE since 2002 and currently owns a 7.7% stake in the company.

ET reported July 31 that the ZEE promoters were leaning toward the binding offer from a financial investor. The other offer, a nonbinding one, had come from a consortium led by US cable major Comcast that also included James Murdoch’s Lupa Systems, private equity fund Blackstone and independent fund Atairos.