Media For Europe edges closer to ProSiebenSat.1 takeover as stake increases

Italian media company Media For Europe (MFE) has increased its stake in ProSiebenSat.1 as it takes another step towards a takeover of the German broadcaster.

Bert Habets

ProSiebenSat.1/Amelie Niederbuchner

ProSiebenSat.1 confirmed on Monday that MFE had raised its shareholding from just over 30% to 43.57% as of August 13 as it looks to take over the broadcaster, a move the latter’s board has got behind.

The exec board and supervisory board said earlier this month they considered MFE’s increased takeover offer of around €7.99 (US$9.33) to be adequate and would be recommending its acceptance to shareholders.

While short of a majority share, the Italian company has until September 1 to add more shareholders’ stakes. MFE will announce the final results of the share acquisition process on September 4.

The takeover would help create a Europe-wide broadcast giant. MFE, which is controlled by the family of former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, already owns 100% of Italy’s biggest broadcaster, Mediaset, and its Spanish counterpart, Mediaset España, which operates commercial network Telecinco.

The acquisition of ProSiebenSat.1 would mean MFE would become the third largest commercial TV company in Europe, behind Bertelsmann-owned RTL and ITV in the UK. MFE’s ambition is to build a pan-European broadcaster that can compete with US streamers such as Netflix.

However, MFE’s offer coincided with a competing partial acquisition offer for ProSiebenSat.1 from Czech investment group PPF, which offered €7 per share in cash. This has seen it up its stake from 15% to a final 18.41% stake.

The PPF offer is expected to settle until August 28, at the latest, while the MFE offer will be completed following the end of the additional acceptance period and receipt of merger control clearance in the US, if required.

Bert Habets, group CEO of ProSiebenSat.1 Media, said: “MFE and PPF have been important shareholders of ProSiebenSat.1 for a long time. With their offers, they have underscored their long-term investment and commitment to our company. We will now wait for the end of the additional acceptance period for MFE’s offer, which will provide clarity about the future shareholder structure.”