The shareholders of Zee Entertainment have rejected a proposal for the reappointment of Punit Goenka as a director of the company, according to a regulatory filing.

The resolution for the re-appointment of Goenka was defeated in the 42nd Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the company held on Thursday, according to Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL).

The proposal for the reappointment of Goenka as Director, could get support of only 49.54 per cent of the total number of votes cast. While 50.4 per cent voted against the resolution in the AGM.

"Resolution No. 3 (Goenka's reappointment) failed to get the requisite majority of votes as required under the provisions of the Companies Act, 2013, and SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015," ZEEL said.

The Companies Act, 2013, mandates a simple majority of (50 per cent plus one) votes to pass an ordinary resolution at an annual general meeting.

This is a major setback for Goenka who is currently the CEO of the company.

Earlier, several proxy firms had advised the shareholders to vote against Goenka's re-appointment.

However, the three other resolutions for adopting the financial statement for FY'24, declaring a dividend, and ratification of remuneration to cost auditors were passed.

Earlier this month, Punit Goenka had resigned from the post of managing director of ZEEL. However, he continued as CEO of the media and entertainment major. He had also withdrawn himself from reappointment for the said post in the AGM.

While sharing Goenka's resignation letter to exchanges last week, Zee Entertainment said he is "withdrawing his consent for his re-appointment as managing director of the company as proposed in the notice of the ensuing annual general meeting".

On October 18, the board of ZEEL approved the proposal for Goenka's reappointment for a five-year term, effective from January 1, 2025, to December 31, 2029.

The tenure of Goenka, son of media baron Subhash Chandra, as Managing Director & CEO of the company was going to be over by the end 2024.

Later in another regulatory filing, ZEEL informed that it had enhanced the performance targets for Goenka for his re-appointment.

Besides, the board of ZEEL also approved the appointment of Saurav Adhikari as additional director in the capacity of non-executive director, effective November 29. This appointment, recommended by the Nomination & Remuneration Committee, is subject to shareholders' approval.

Shares of Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd were trading on Friday morning at Rs 128.55 on BSE, up 4.38 per cent from previous close.

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