Zee wants to start the new year with a squeaky clean slate

The promoters of media company Zee Entertainment Enterprises (ZEE) want to repay their outstanding debt in the next three months — ahead of staggered deadlines running into 2021 — to ensure that the uncertainty surrounding the repayments doesn’t linger and affect the core business, managing director Punit Goenka told ET in an interview.“The next due date is April 2020, and the last one is in June 2021,” Goenka told ET, referring to the separate deadlines for repaying lenders to which promoters have pledged their shares. “But we don't want to wait until then.”The promoters of the Essel Group, which owns ZEE, have been selling assets to meet debt obligations. Over the past few weeks, the promoters have sold a part of their stake in ZEE (to Invesco Oppenheimer) and 205 MW of solar energy portfolio (to Adani Group) to reduce debt.“In January 2019, the total loan against shares and other securities was about Rs 13,500 crore,” Goenka said. “Today, that debt stands at Rs 7,000 crore. ”Goenka added that the promoters are open to selling 10-11% stake to strategic investors. ZEE now has a market value of about Rs 22,750 crore.ZEE shares have dropped nearly 47% in 2019, with worried investors selling the stock on mounting concerns that lenders may redeem the pledged securities. However, the plunge in ZEE’s share price has brought back strategic investors to the discussion table.

from Economic Times https://ift.tt/355bQ2y