I bought East India Company but UK’s Takeover Panel didn’t allow sale: Subhash Chandra

Zee Group Chairman Dr Subhash Chandra had bought East India Company 25 years ago in 1995.

New Delhi: Zee Group Chairman Dr Subhash Chandra, on Wednesday (October 6), said that he had bought East India Company 25 years ago in 1995. However, the UK’s Takeover Panel didn’t allow him to buy the same East India Company, which had ruled over India for centuries.   

He added that the country’s then Prime Minister had asked him why he wanted to buy the firm. He told the ex-PM that the worth of a product will increase if it will have East India Company’s logo on it. However, he added that he wanted to say that he wants to control the company using which Britishers ruled over India. 

Chandra made the reference of the UK regulators hoping that Indian regulators will take a cue and won’t allow the illegal take over of Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL) by its international shareholder Invesco. He was giving an exclusive interview to Zee News CEO Sudhir Chaudhary. 

He added that India won’t let this happen and that the viewers of ZEE channels won’t let Invesco takeover ZEEL. He also pointed out that Invesco is just a shareholder and not the owner of the company. Also Read: Ice cream sold by parlours get expensive as it comes under 18% GST slab

When asked who is the real owner of ZEEL, he said that 2.5 lakh public shareholders of the company are its real owners, along with 150 crore viewers spread across the world. Also Read: Zee Group Chairman Subhash Chandra gets emotional recalling the journey of Zee TV