The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) will hear Punit Goenka’s appeal against NCLT’s order allowing Zee Entertainment to go bankrupt. The stock will also be in focus as it has been excluded from the futures and options section.

New expiring month contracts for Zee will not be issued when existing contract months expire.

“However, existing outstanding contracts for the March 2023 and April 2023 expiry months will continue to trade until their respective expiry, and new strike prices will also be introduced for the existing contract months,” the NSE circular said.

It added that from April 28, 2023, no contracts should be offered for trading.

The NSE circular came after the National Company Law Tribunal recognised IndusInd Bank’s insolvency petition against the company on February 22. Zee is the guarantor of the Rs 150 crore loan provided by IndusInd Bank to Essel Group’s Siti Networks. However, it failed to honour the Debt Servicing Reserve Account Assurance Agreement (DSRA). The shortfall amounts to Rs 83 crore.

The move has raised concerns about a delay in the merger with Culver Max Entertainment Pvt Ltd (Sony). Zee’s top boss, Punit Goenka, said it was “taking all necessary steps by the law to protect the interests of all Zee Entertainment stakeholders and complete the proposed merger promptly.” The media company has now approached NCLAT on the matter.

Based on the company’s December quarter results, its current liabilities stood at around Rs 698 crore with a provision of Rs 133 crore. In Q3FY23, the company’s consolidated profit fell 92% YoY to Rs 24.31 crore due to poor operating performance, lower revenue and unusual loss (Rs 168.97 crore).

Consolidated operating income was Rs 2,111.2 crore, down 0.07% year-on-year and down 15.6% year-on-year due to lower advertising revenue.