Zee backs ex-directors Kurien and Chokhani
The Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL) board on Thursday backed two of its former directors — Ashok Kurien and Manish Chokhani — who are facing allegations of corporate governance lapses by proxy advisory firms, and quit just two days before Tuesday’s annual general meeting.
In a statement, Zee said the speculations disparaging the contribution of the two directors are baseless and arise out of inadequate understanding of the industry. The decisions taken by board committee members and the entire board are being wrongly attributed to individual directors without any basis, the company said.
The Zee statement came after Invesco, which owns 18 per cent stake in the company, sought removal of current MD and CEO, Punit Goenka and appointment of six new directors on the board of the company as its nominees. Invesco called for an EGM to remove Goenka after two proxy advisory firms, Ingovern and IIAS said there are corporate governance lapses in the company with the promoter leading the company and is party to related party transactions.
The promoters, Chandra’s family, own only 4 per cent of the company, and had to sell their stake to pay off ~13,000-crore debt taken by promoter entities after defaulting.
Zee retaliated against the proxy advisory funds and said it was immensely grateful to both Kurien and Chokhani for their contribution towards the company. “Their guidance to the leadership team has been valuable, enabling ZEE to touch newer heights and deliver greater value to its stakeholders year on year. Under their collective direction, the company has consistently undertaken several initiatives to bring in more transparency to the shareholders," Zee said.
R Gopalan, Chairman of ZEE Entertainment Enterprises, said, “The board of Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. unanimously applauds Kurien and Chokhani, commending their professional conduct during their association with the company. It has been our privilege to have such esteemed members as part of the board, and their contributions towards the company remain significant.”