Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL) is one among India’s leading media and Entertainment Company with its headquarters in Mumbai, Maharashtra. The company was founded in 1992 by Subhash Chandra who is now its chairman and managing director. It is a public company limited by shares both equity and preference shares. This Company broadcasts 33 channels in India and 34 channels that serve Indian content across 169 countries in the world. It is one of the largest producers and aggregators of Hindi programmes and has more than 960 million viewers across 169 countries in the world. They are the pioneers in India to implement content aggregation and distribution through traditional media like satellite and cable and new media like internet. ZEEL owns an integrated range of businesses and focus mainly to adhere on content-to-consumer value chain model of media and entertainment business. In the second quarter of 2015 ; from April to June ZEEL’s net profit has increased to Rs242 Cr which is 15% more than the net profit in the previous fiscal year (FY) .This boost in the net profit is due to its higher advertising revenue. The total revenue of the company has grown by 27% and is Rs1340 Cr.
In July 2015, ZEEL has acquired its 100% stake in SarthakTv for R115 Cr cash deal. SarthakTv launched in 2010 is the No-1 Indian General Entertainment Channel broadcasting in the regional language Odia. It is well known for catering the needs of its viewers with a mix of exclusive entertainment content which includes different shows like serials, movies, reality shows, music, and non-fiction and is the market leader in the fiction segment. ZEEL as procured SarthakTv by acquiring the stake from all its current shareholders with a consideration amount of Rs 15 Cr payable in FY17 and FY18 which is linked to performance of the channel. Punit Goenka, CEO of ZEEL said the acquisition of this established, profitable and market-leading venture helps them to add their value and is in line with their philosophy which relies on enhancing shareholder value.Sarthak TV will be added to the formidable bouquet of 33 channels of ZEEL along with other regional channels. Sitaram Agrawalla, the Founder and MD of the Sarthak Group proposed that ZEEL, the market leading network of entertainment in India would act as the perfect platform for them to grow in the future. Thus the acquisition benefits both ZEEL and SarthakTv.