'We'll lift Zee stake to 26%; no plan to raise external funds'

Five years since Zee Entertainment persuaded lenders not to classify its debt as default, the media giant is facing pressure to oust its promoter family, after an aborted merger with Sony Pictures in India. In an interview, founder Subhash Chandra said his son Punit Goenka, who heads Zee, is the right person to lead it in the future as well, as he aims to raise the family’s stake in Zee from 4% to 26%. Edited excerpts:

- Gaurav Laghate

Is it a deja vu moment after Sony pulled the plug on the deal, stock is at an all-time low, and investors are trying to oust the Zee promoter family?

As you know, the 25th of January was the fifth anniversary of our failure in the capital market, when Zee's shares fell almost 40%. That time, I had 38 lenders sitting in my board room. I was accompanied by Punit and Amit on my side and I asked the lenders to have patience. I promised that I would repay all of them. They agreed, which was a first in India's financial history, where lenders gave the borrower a year to pay back, after I failed to pay them back in time.

Not everyone succeeds in all the businesses they do, but we still repaid almost 92% of the lenders. Five years down the line, I am asking the shareholders to have patience. Punit is the right person to run the company and there is no problem with Zee. It is a profitable, zero-debt company.

Were you on board with the Sony merger and what was your reaction when you realized it is probably failing?