Munich, Frankfurt Donata Hopfen failed in the male-dominated Bundesliga business. The former media manager, who was fired as head of the German Football League (DFL) in December, is now getting the chance to prove her skills in a more familiar environment: the 46-year-old is to join the supervisory board of the Pro Sieben Sat 1 media group. This was confirmed to the Handelsblatt by people familiar with the process.
But the appointment is not only an opportunity for hops, Pro Sieben Sat 1 also finds a supervisor with industry experience and a consulting background useful on the control committee. Things have been turbulent at the company headquarters in Unterföhring for years.
There are several construction sites: In Bert Habets, the group has its third CEO within five years. There are changing major shareholders with changing interests. The most urgent problem is currently the balance sheet audit – which even endangers the index membership on the stock exchange.
The Dutchman Habets had postponed the balance sheet presentation at the end of February indefinitely. The reason for this is regulatory questions about the business of the subsidiaries Jochen Schweizer and Mydays, Pro Sieben said. The area is negligibly small for the TV group. According to company insiders, Habets and the chairman of the supervisory board, Andreas Wiele, were startled by the problems with the voucher provider.
Now they would take a close look at the entire set of figures, they say. Their fear is that the CEO Rainer Beaujean, who was replaced in the fall, has “hidden skeletons in the basement” according to the group experts: “They are now turning every stone.” A group spokeswoman did not want to comment on the events at the request of the Handelsblatt.
The stock exchange rules put Pro Sieben under pressure
The management team is under time pressure: the balance sheet must be available by the end of April at the latest, as required by the stock exchange. Pro Sieben Sat 1 is listed in the MDax and could be dropped from the index if the deadline for publication of the figures is exceeded.
The date of the annual general meeting, which is scheduled for May 2nd and at which Donata Hopfen is to be appointed to the supervisory board, also depends on the confirmed annual financial statements. The invitation to the general meeting must be given 30 days in advance. So there are still three weeks left to meet the deadline.
The Dutchman has been leading Pro Sieben Sat. 1 since last autumn.
(Photo: dpa)
But there are not only accounting difficulties to be resolved, but also other personal details to be clarified. The Czech financial group PPF, which recently became a major shareholder, is pushing for a seat on the supervisory board. “PPF believes that Pro Sieben should ensure fair representation of all major shareholders on the board,” the company said.
The company is owned by Renata Kellnerova, the 55-year-old widow of Czech businessman Petr Kellner. A few weeks ago, PPF increased its stake to a good ten percent and is the second largest shareholder. Didier Stoessel, Chief Investment Officer at PPF, is considered her possible candidate for the supervisory board.
The vacancies on the supervisory board of Pro Sieben Sat 1 are currently being fought over. Three mandates expire this year, and one position is vacant after Habets moved from the supervisory board to the executive chair in the fall.
As a new addition, hops are considered set. PPF’s largest shareholder is competing for seats on the control body: MFE-Mediaforeurope, a company controlled by former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.
MFE holds 29 percent of the shares and wants to delegate Katharina Behrends to the supervisory board. The former manager of NBC Universal has been running the Italians’ business in German-speaking countries for several months. But what’s more, according to industry circles, MFE claims two seats on the supervisory board. It’s possible that Donata Hopfen’s industry experience qualifies her as an intermediary here. It is also about the future orientation of Pro Sieben. MFE, PPF and Pro Sieben declined to comment on the individual personal details.
Investors have many questions for Pro Sieben
According to financial circles, the major shareholders have different views on the future direction of Pro Sieben. MFE has long advocated working more closely with Pro Sieben. Bayern have so far refused to do so. In addition, the Italians are committed to Pro Sieben focusing more on its core business of television and entertainment.
PPF, on the other hand, supports the previous Pro-Sieben strategy, as a person familiar with the matter said. Pro Sieben has been investing in new business areas for a long time, such as online dating and internet trading. The group should become less dependent on cyclical advertising revenue.
The billionaire from the Czech Republic has entered Pro Sieben Sat. 1 with ten percent of the shares.
(Photo: Private)
The fact that Pro Sieben has postponed the presentation of the balance sheet is irritating to investors. “Something like this happens very rarely,” says Andreas Thomae from the fund provider Deka. Especially since there are many unanswered questions. “From the outside, it is incomprehensible why this happened because of such a small business.” In 2021, Jochen Schweizer and Mydays accounted for only 1.6 percent of external sales. According to Pro Sieben, an investigation is being carried out into whether the business activities of the subsidiaries fall under the Payment Services Supervision Act. Therefore, an adjustment of the business model is being examined.
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But that’s not all. The investors want to know from Habets how things are going strategically – regardless of the influence of the major shareholders. The former boss of the competitor RTL has been at the head of the largest private TV group in Germany since the beginning of November.
The 52-year-old has not yet commented on his plans. “It’s important that Habets explains as soon as possible what he intends to do with Pro Sieben Sat 1,” emphasizes Deka manager Thomae. The stock market is skeptical about the whirlwind: the share price has fallen by a good fifth within a year. For comparison: the MDax recorded a minus of around six percent in the same period.
Crushed in the intrigues of the Bundesliga
Donata Hopfen will have to define her role in this tumult. At the top of the DFL, she didn’t even last a year. The manager, who is well versed in digital issues and worked at Axel Springer as the head of the “Bild” publishing house and later in the consulting department of Boston Consulting, always remained a foreign body in the ball sports business. Although she announced that “we want to be the most digital football league in the world”, many people were unclear as to what that means in concrete terms.
In addition, she apparently could not cope with the intrigues of the clubs. At times, she is said to have been more concerned with questions of power than with business problems at the DFL, according to sources in the Bundesliga environment. Questions of power, which in all likelihood will also concern you at Pro Sieben.
According to fund manager Thomae, one thing is missing above all: continuity. “I hope that with Mr. Habets things will calm down at the top. The CEO attrition was already high.” Hops can possibly contribute to this.
More: RTL cuts 1,000 jobs at Gruner + Jahr and at the Cologne headquarters.