Zee stake sale at advanced stage, progressing steadily: Essel Group

Essel Group said Tuesday the stake sale process of Zee Entertainment Enterprises is at an advanced stage.

"The stake sale process of Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd undertaken by Essel Group, is in steady progress and at an advanced stage," Essel Group said in a statement.

The group cannot share any additional details at this stage due to confidentiality agreements, it added.

Zee Entertainment Enterprises had announced in November last year that its promoters, led by Subhash Chandra, planned to sell up to 50 per cent of their equity stake in the company to a strategic partner.

On January 25, Essel group companies had come under massive selling pressure, plummeting up to 33 per cent, and suffered a combined erosion of Rs 13,352 crore in market valuation.

On January 26, Essel group Chairman Chandra said that his company is in a financial mess and has blamed the same for the aggressive bets on infra, which has gone out of control since the IL&FS crisis and also the acquisition of Videocon's D2H business.

Apologising to lenders, Chandra also said some negative forces are out to sabotage his efforts to raise money through a strategic sale in the flagship company Zee Entertainment Enterprises.