Invesco Developing Markets, the largest shareholder of Zee Entertainment Enterprises, is selling part of its stake in the media firm through a block deal on Thursday. The US investment firm holds 17.88 per cent in Zee along with OFI Global China Fund LLC.

Invesco is now set to sell close to 7.4 crore shares of Zee, which could be valued at Rs 2,200 crore. The shares are likely to be sold between Rs 270 and Rs 290 per share.

Ahead of this announcement, shares of Zee had settled 3 per cent lower at Rs 290.95 on the BSE on Wednesday. The block deal by Invesco could put more pressure on the Zee stock on Thursday as is generally seen with other counters.

Invesco will continue to hold at least 11 per cent in Zee which will still give it the right to call for an extra-ordinary general meeting (EGM). A shareholder with more than 10 per cent can call for EGM.

In a statement post market hours, Invesco said it will offload part of the stake in Zee, while reiterating its support to the proposed merger with Sony. Three funds managed by its investment team, on Wednesday launched a book-building exercise to sell up to 7.8 per cent of the share capital of Zee.

“The purpose of this transaction is to align these funds’ exposures to Zee with other funds managed by the investment team and to achieve an aggregate ownership position in the company that is more in line with the investment team’s portfolio construction approach,” Invesco said.

Invesco said despite the reduction in the stake to 11 per cent, it still underscores the investment team’s belief that the Sony deal in its current form has great potential for the Zee shareholders.

Recently, Invesco dropped its plans to oust Punit Goenka, the managing director of Zee , and recast the company’s board through an EGM that was first proposed in September 2021. The fund had also had expressed its support for the merger with Sony as it felt that the deal had “great potential for Zee shareholders’'.

This came after a division bench of the Bombay High Court set aside a single judge order restraining Invesco from holding an EGM where it had proposed to remove Goenka. The division bench had observed that the requisition notice sent by Invesco was neither illegal nor incapable of being set aside.