MUMBAI: Further to the announcement of the acquisition of its Ten Sports Network by Sony Pictures Networks India, Zee Entertainment Enterprises, issued a disclosure report to the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) giving further details of the deal.

ZEEL stated that the sports broadcasting is housed under two companies: Taj TV Ltd, Mauritius and Taj Television (India) Pvt Ltd. The first is a step down foreign subsidiary which is involved in the broadcasting and distribution of sports content through the TEN brand of TV channels owned by it and has broadcasting rights to various sports events, including those from five cricket boards. Taj Television, a domestic wholly owned subsidiary, acts as an exclusive agent in India for down-linking, marketing, distributing and ad sales of the channels owned by Taj TV.

It further elaborated that the sports broadcasting business contributed Rs 631 crore (net of inter company transactions), constituting 10.79 per cent of the consolidated revenue and a loss of Rs 37.20 crore in FY2015-2016.

The sale deed involves SPN India, picking up ZEEL’s entire stake in the Indian subsidiary. Taj TV Mauritius would on a slump sale basis be selling its sports broadcasting business to Aqua Holdings Investments, Mauritius and MSM Asia Ltd, UK –affiliates of Sony Pictures Networks.

The company states that the entire transaction would take four to five months to be completed and is subject to regulatory approvals and also certain precedent conditions being fulfilled.