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Essel Group to sell 11% in ZEEL to Oppenheimer Fund

Divestment process in agreed timeline & a strong step to repay lenders

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Essel Group, a multi-faceted business conglomerate, said that Invesco Oppenheimer Developing Markets Fund is buying up to 11% stake in Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL).

The fund will pay a total consideration of up to Rs 4,224 crore to acquire the stake from the promoters of one of India's leading media and entertainment companies. The proceeds from the stake sale will go towards paying off promoter debt.

Punit Goenka, managing director and chief executive officer, ZEEL, said, "The financial investor (Invesco Oppenheimer) has further reposed its faith in ZEEL. It also gives me immense pleasure to note their strong belief and trust in the intrinsic value of our precious asset. It is the valuable belief and support of our esteemed financial investors that enables us to consistently generate great value, year after year," said Goenka.

An investment company registered with the US Securities & Exchange Commission, Invesco Oppenheimer Developing Markets Fund has been an investor in ZEEL since 2002 and owns 7.74% stake (as on June 30, 2019). The fund has a long history of investing in India as a financial investor.

Apart from ZEEL, the Essel Group is also in the process of divesting some of its non-media assets and is confident of completing the overall repayment process well within the agreed timeline. The group has a presence in other business sectors including real estate, infrastructure, education, finance, precious metals, technology and tourism.

ABOUT THE SALE

 Invesco Oppenheimer will pay up to Rs 4,224 crore to acquire the stake
 Proceeds from sale will go towards paying off promoter debt
 Invesco Oppenheimer has been an investor in ZEEL since 2002

The group had initiated the process of divesting its key assets, with an aim to repay all the lenders by September 2019. During this divestment process, the group has received positive response from multiple partners expressing interest to buy the stake in ZEEL and the other key non-media assets.

ZEEL's 11% stake divestment to Invesco Oppenheimer is a strong step in the overall divestment process, giving the promoters the required financial fillip to initiate the repayment process, the company said in a statement.

A media and entertainment powerhouse, ZEEL offers entertainment content to diverse audiences. With a presence in over 173 countries and a reach of more than 1.3 billion people, ZEEL is among the largest global content companies across genres, languages and platforms.

It is present across broadcasting, movies, music, digital, live entertainment and theatre businesses, both within India and overseas.

With more than 260,000 hours of television content it houses the world's largest Hindi film library with rights to more than 4,800 movie titles across various languages. The company has also produced several movies for theatrical release and is the fastest-growing music label in India. It has a presence in the digital space with ZEE5 and has also ventured into live events.

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