With Chandra facing the daunting task of reducing the debt and battling allegations of corruption, investors are also gripped with fear that the shares pledged against loan will lose value if the situation doesn’t improve. Since Essel’s stake of 59 per cent in Zee Entertainment is pledged as collateral to borrow money from creditors, shares are at risk of being seized or dumped if the price falls. According to the management, the stock crash of January 25 triggered various covenant breaches but the group reached an understanding with 97 percent of its lenders. “There was fear in the market that probe agencies might launch an investigation into the money laundering allegations and as the prices start to plunge, the lenders and investors started selling shares which were pledged against loans,” says an analyst from a large domestic brokerage firm.