Two Of Three Zee Entertainment Directors Cite Film Advances, Related-Party Loans Among Reasons For Quitting Board

Days after promoters lost control, three directors of Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. resigned, with two citing related-party loans and film advances, among other issues, as the reasons.

Independent directors Sunil Sharma and Neharika Vora, and non-independent director Subodh Kumar quit the board, according to the company’s exchange filing. The board accepted the resignations. The broadcaster had last week appointed three new independent directors—R Gopalan, Surendra Singh and Aparajita Jain.

That came after Essel Group’s holding in Zee Entertainment fell to 5 percent as the promoters sold additional take to pare debt. Subhash Chandra then quit as chairman even as he remains a non-executive director.

Sharma, in his resignation letter, cited sale of shares by the promoter group and subsequent reconstitution of the board as the reason behind his resignation.

Kumar and Vora, however, cited film advances worth Rs 2,200 crore, a bank appropriating deposits worth Rs 200 crore and laxity in spending corporate social responsibility funds among the reasons, according to the filing. The company, however, said that appropriate disclosures were made and that it has taken remedial action wherever required.

Here are the reasons cited by Kumar and Vora and the company’s comments: