The Zee-Sony merger, announced September last, got approval from BSE and National Stock Exchange on Friday, paving the way for the creation of an entertainment behemoth.

“The approval from the stock exchanges marks a firm and positive step in the overall merger approval process. The approvals permit it to proceed with the next steps in the overall merger process. The Composite Scheme of Arrangement remains subject to applicable regulatory and other approvals,” Zee said in a statement later.

Sony Pictures Network India is now called Culver Max Entertainment Pvt. Ltd.

However, the journey till Friday’s stock exchanges approval has been a roller-coaster ride.

Zee and Sony announced their merger on September 22 last year. After a 90-day period to conduct due diligence for the process, which ended on December 21, the Board of Directors of Zee approved the merger with SPNI, moneycontrol.com reported.

The Board had then said that while Sony will hold a 50.86 percent stake in the merged entity, promoters of ZEEL will hold 3.99 percent, and the other ZEEL shareholders will hold a 45.15 percent stake in the combined company.

Media reports have indicated in the past that while Punit Goenka, the present MD & CEO of Zee Entertainment, will continue to be the chief executive of the combined entity, Sony’s present CEO NP Singh will be the chairman of the merged company’s board.