Two days after the termination of the merger agreement by Sony Group, Zee Entertainment yesterday hit back by filing a petition before the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), seeking a direction to implement the merger scheme.

The Indian media company has also initiated appropriate legal actions to contest the claims of  $90 million (Rs 748.5 crore) filed by Sony Group before the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC), according to a regulatory update by Zee Entertainment Enterprise Ltd (ZEEL), a PTI report from New Delhi stated.

It asserted that Sony Group firm Culver Max and BEPL (Bangla Entertainment Pvt Ltd), which were to be merged with ZEEL, “are in default of their obligations to give effect to” and implement the scheme of merger that was sanctioned by the NCLT.

While Zee pushed for Goenka, its MD and CEO, to be appointed as the head of the merged company, Sony wanted its CEO N P Singh to preside at its helm, reports had suggested.

According to a report in moneycontrol.com, Zee, in its stock exchange filing yesterday, said it specifically denied the charge of not meeting the merger conditions. The company has “complied with all its obligations in good faith”, it said, adding that Culver Max and BEPL are not entitled to terminate the merger agreement.

Zee has also refuted Sony’s demand of $90 million termination fee, stating that such a demand is “legally untenable and has no basis whatsoever”.

“The company has called upon Culver Max and BEPL to immediately withdraw the termination and confirm that they will perform their obligations to give effect to and implement the merger scheme,” Zee further noted.

The proposed merger would have created a $10 billion media behemoth, big enough to give competition a much-talked about merger of Disney’s India operations or part of it with Reliance Industries-backed Viacom18 and other global biggies like Netflix and Amazon prime Video.