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MUMBAI:
It was a boardroom fight waiting to play out in public. For
years, the Indian promoters of Sony Entertainment Television
(Set) India have been pressing parent company Sony Pictures
Entertainment (SPE) for an initial public offering (IPO).
Now they have petitioned the Bombay High Court, questioning
the board's capital call to its shareholders for infusing
$40 million (around Rs 1.6 billion).
While
SPE holds close to 61 per cent in SET India, the seven Indian
promoters have 31 per cent and Capital International, Japan,
8 per cent.
"The
Indian promoters have filed a petition in protest against
the capital call. While the total capital infusion is to the
tune of $40 million, the promoters need to invest in proportion
to their shareholding. The contention of the Indian promoters
is that the company can raise funds through an IPO,"
says a source who is familiar with the developments.
The
Indian promoters who include Sushil Shergil, Sudesh Mani Iyer,
Rakesh Agarwal, Jayesh Parikh, Raman Maroo, BR Sule and film
actor Jackie Shroff, were holding their stake in SET India
through a company called ACE. Now it is split into two entities
- Atlas and Grandway.
The
net worth of SET India has been substantially eroded and PricewaterhouseCoopers,
the auditors of Sony, wanted support from the shareholders.
SET
India executives did not want to comment on the issue.
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