Shares of Japanese conglomerate Sony(NYSE: SONY) gave investors some really great news on Tuesday, announcing it had settled all merger-related disputes with Zee Entertainment Enterprises. Sony's India subsidiary had planned to merge with Zee in a $10 billion deal, but that was abandoned earlier this year, leading to litigation between the two companies.
Sony and Zee find common ground
In part because of the rapidly changing landscape in Indian media, Sony and Zee decided to settle their differences and move on without any obligations to the other. Zee's shares jumped 12% in reaction, although they're still down big from before the merger was abandoned.
India is a huge market for media companies but it's been difficult for outsiders to break in or find partners that could help drive profitable growth. And the pandemic-era valuations didn't last for media companies facing an uncertain box office and slowing growth in streaming.
A clear strategy in entertainment
As nearly every other media company tries to launch a streaming service, burning money in the process, Sony is the one company that sells content to the highest bidder. That's been a successful strategy and has kept Sony's profits consistent since before the pandemic.
But the diverse nature of the conglomerate business is now working against Sony and the stock trades for just 17 times earnings with analysts expecting a slight drop in revenue over the next two years. As much as the overhang of Zee litigation may be good news for Sony today, it doesn't change the company's growth challenge in media, which is still lacking the growth investors want to see today.
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Travis Hoium has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
