Mediaset confirms Endemol bid

Mediaset vice chairman Pier Silvio Berlusconi has warned the media giant will not enter a bidding war for Endemol after submitting a joint takeover bid with a private equity firm.

The former Italian prime minister’s son confirmed yesterday Mediaset and Milan-based private equity firm Clessidra have made an undisclosed bid for the Dutch formats giant, the creator of shows including Big Brother and Deal or No Deal.

However, Berlusconi said he would not enter into an auction for the company, in which Mediaset is already a shareholder.

He told reporters: “We have made our offer with Clessidra. I think it is a good offer for the creditors and the future of the company. For sure, we will not participate in an auction if it were to come to that.”

Endemol, which has production companies in 30 countries worldwide, is currently restructuring debts worth €2.8m (US$3.7m) after failing to meet banking covenants.

Mediaset already owns approximately one-third of the company, alongside Goldman Sachs Capital Partners and Dutch investment fund Cyrte, which was set up by Endemol co-founder John de Mol.

The Italian media conglomerate has long been linked with a takeover bid for Endemol, while an offer from Time Warner last month, reported to be worth reported €1bn, was turned down.

However, any takeover bid seems unlikely to progress until Endemol’s debt issues have been resolved, while creditors have set a deadline of December 13 to decide the company’s future. They would reportedly favour a debt-for-equity swap, rather than an overall buyout.

An Endemol spokesman told C21: “Our focus continues to be the restructuring of our debt and those talks are progressing well. We expect a positive outcome soon.”

Clessidra declined to comment.

Mediaset, Goldman Sachs and Cyrte paid €3.4bn for Endemol in 2007, which had previously been bought by Telefonica for €5.5bn in 2000.

Endemol is also still looking for a new CEO, following the departure of Ynon Kreiz in June this year.