Invesco drops plan to shake up India's Zee, citing Sony merger plan

MUMBAI (Reuters) – U.S. investment firm Invesco decided on Thursday against pushing India’s Zee Entertainment to shake up its top management, citing its support for a planned merger of Zee with the local unit of Japan’s Sony Group.

The news sent Zee shares soaring more than 16% in a subdued stock market.

Invesco, which owns nearly 18% of Zee, has for months pursued a legal battle against the Indian firm to call for a shareholder meeting to oust its chief executive officer and appoint new independent board members over alleged corporate governance issues.

Denying any wrongdoing, Zee had pushed back on any such meeting, sparking the battle.

Though Invesco recently won an Indian court order allowing it to call such a shareholder meeting, the U.S. firm has now decided to not pursue the matter, citing the merger.

“Following the merger’s consummation, the board of the newly combined company will be substantially reconstituted, which will achieve our objective of strengthening board oversight of the company,” Invesco said in a statement.

The U.S. firm said it would continue to monitor the proposed merger’s progress, and if it fails, it could again request a shareholder meeting at Zee.

Zee and Sony did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Reuters.

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