US Fund To Buy 11 Per Cent Stake In Zee Entertainment For Rs 4,224 Crore, Entire Amount To Be Used For Loan Repayment

US-based Invesco Oppenheimer and Subhash Chandra led Essel group have agreed to a 11 per cent stake sale in Essel’s Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL) for Rs 4,224 crore, Mint has reported.

Invesco has agreed to pay Rs 400 per share for Zee with a direct share transfer to the group from the promoters. ZEEL’s chief executive Punit Goenka has said that the entire amount will be used to repay the group’s loans.

The Essel group however, needs to pay its lenders Rs 7,500 crore by 30 September and will need to find another investor to meet the gap. Goenka has said that 20 per cent of the stake was to be sold, and the remaining 9 per cent is still for sale. He added that the group is in talks with several parties for the sale, displaying a positive sentiment about a sale.

Invesco Oppenheimer already held 7.74 per cent in ZEEL and the deal will increase its holding to 18.74 per cent. Essel’s share will meanwhile fall from the current to 35.79 per cent to a little below 24 per cent.

The group had been in a financial mess since January when Chandra had admitted to its bets on infra having gone wrong post the ILFS crisis.