The Pro-Sieben share has lost more than half of its value within the past twelve months.
(Photo: IMAGO/Future Image)
Munich According to its own statements, the Italian media group MFE Mediaforeurope has further increased its stake in Pro Sieben Sat 1, sparking speculation about a takeover of the German competitor. MFE (formerly Mediaset), controlled by the family of former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, said on Wednesday evening that it had secured access to a further four percent of Pro Sieben Sat 1 via derivatives and could thus hold up to 29 percent of the shares and 29.9 percent of voting rights come. A takeover bid would be due if the voting rights threshold of 30 percent was exceeded.
The new CEO Bert Habets only took office at Pro Sieben on Tuesday. The former boss of the rival RTL replaced Rainer Beaujean, who had always resisted the takeover desires of the Berlusconi holding company. The Bavarian state government is also fighting against increasing influence from Italy. MFE envisions a pan-European television alliance to counter the advance of streaming services. Habets, who was previously on the Pro Sieben Sat 1 supervisory board, has not yet commented on his ideas.
The Italians had recently reported a stake of 25.01 percent in the broadcasting chain (Pro Sieben, Sat 1 and Kabel 1) from Unterföhring near Munich, 24.26 percent of which was direct and the rest through derivatives. The Pro-Sieben share has lost more than half of its value within the past twelve months, the group is still worth a good 1.6 billion euros on the stock exchange.
MFE, as the largest shareholder, has not yet been represented on the Supervisory Board. At the beginning of October, MFE brought TV manager Katharina Behrends from NBC Universal Networks and appointed her to be the governor for Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
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