Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited share price opened 10 percent higher, hitting upper circuit of Rs 205.45 on BSE as the company’s largest shareholders have called an EGM seeking removal of Punit Goenka from the board.
Zee Entertainment’s largest shareholders Invesco Developing Markets Fund and OFI Global China Fund LLC, which together hold 17.88 percent of the total paid-up share capital of the company, in a letter on September 11, called an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) seeking removal of Goenka, Manish Chokhani and Ashok Kurien as directors of the firm, the company said in a regulatory filing on September 13.
Goenka, who is the son of Essel group founder and chairman Subhash Chandra, is the managing director and chief executive officer of the media company.
The two funds have sought to appoint six new independent directors, the filing added. The proposed directors are Surendra Singh Sirohi, Naina Krishna Murthy, Rohan Dhamija, Aruna Sharma, Srinivasa Rao Addepalli, and Gaurav Mehta.
However, the shareholders said, “We understand that the Company is required to seek an approval from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (“MIB”) in connection with the appointment of the Proposed Independent Directors. Accordingly, we request that the Company submit an application with the MIS seeking approval for the appointment of the Proposed Independent Directors at the earliest.”
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In a separate filing, the company said Manish Chokhani and Ashok Kurien had resigned from the positions of non-executive non-independent directors of the firm with immediate effect.
The stock was trading at Rs 233.50, up Rs 46.70, or 25.00 percent. It has touched an intraday high of Rs 233.50 and an intraday low of Rs 205.45. There were pending buy orders of 154,530 shares, with no sellers available. It was trading with volumes of 2,428,816 shares, compared to its five day average of 579,877 shares, an increase of 318.85 percent.