Bombay Court asks Zee to call shareholders’ meet with Invesco

Any resolution passed at the extraordinary general meeting will be put on hold, however, until the Bombay High Court decides on the legality of the Invesco’s request for such a meeting. Zee and Invesco did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Invesco, which owns nearly 18 per cent of Zee via two funds, wants a shakeup at the TV network over corporate governance concerns at a time when the company is planning a merger with the local unit of Japan’s Sony Group. That move is set to create India’s biggest broadcaster but Invesco has raised concerns about options given to Zee’s founding family, which includes its CEO Punit Goenka, to raise their stake in the merged company to 20 per cent.

Zee’s founder-Goenka’s father Subhash Chandra has accused Invesco of plotting a hostile takeover. Invesco has denied the charge but said earlier this year it tried to forge a deal between firms owned by Reliance Industries, controlled by Mukesh Ambani, and Zee.