Bombay HC grants injunction in favour of Zee in dispute with Invesco

Zee had said it was unwilling to hold an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders as requested by Invesco, its largest shareholder.

The Bombay High Court on Tuesday granted an injunction in favour of Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. in its dispute against Invesco Developing Markets Fund and OFI Global China Fund LLC, giving the TV network respite in its boardroom fight with the company’s shareholders.

A single-judge bench of the court said it has decided to grant an injunction, Bloomberg Quint and Economic Times websites reported. Zee had said it was unwilling to hold an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) of shareholders as requested by Invesco, its largest shareholder.

Gopal Subramanium, the lawyer appearing for Zee in the High Court, had said before the board of a listed company should have an optimum balance between executive and non-executive directors, said Moneycontrol.com. 

Separately, Zee said on Tuesday its board meeting to consider and approve the firm's financial results for the second quarter has been cancelled due to lack of quorum. The Mumbai-headquartered company was scheduled to hold its board meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 27.

In September, Sony's India entertainment unit announced a deal to buy a majority stake in Zee to become the country's largest broadcaster.

U.S. investment firm Invesco had publicly lashed out at Zee and objected to some terms of its proposed merger with Sony, weeks after the deal announcement.

Earlier this year, Invesco had tried to forge a deal between companies owned by Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries and Zee.