PPF withdrawal clears path for Media For Europe takeover of ProSiebenSat.1

Czech investment group PPF is selling its 15.7% stake in ProSiebenSat.1 to Media For Europe (MFE), allowing the Italian media company to take control of the German broadcaster.

Bert Habets

ProSiebenSat.1/Amelie Niederbuchner

MFE, which is controlled by the family of former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, raised its shareholding in ProSiebenSat.1 to 43.57% earlier this month meaning it now owns an almost 60% stake in the broadcaster, giving it a majority holding.

MFE has been pursuing a takeover of ProSiebenSat.1 in order to build a pan-European broadcaster that can compete with US streamers such as Netflix. It needs at least 75% of the voting shares in order to take full control of the broadcaster, which would allow it to consolidate its earnings into its own.

MFE 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 make MFE the third largest commercial TV company in Europe, behind Bertelsmann-owned RTL and ITV in the UK.

In its acquisition efforts, MFE was up against PPF, which had made a partial acquisition offer of €7 (US$8.17) per share in cash for the broadcaster. Following that, MFE increased its own takeover offer to €7.99 per share.

In a statement released this week, PPF said it had decided to tender its shares into MFE’s offer and unwind its remaining financial instruments in ProSiebenSat.1.

“Although the MFE offer has received only limited acceptance, PPF hasn’t been able to attract enough shareholders to support its objectives. With already more than 43% of ProSiebenSat.1 voting rights, MFE’s shareholding is very likely sufficient to secure a simple majority at every ProSiebenSat.1 shareholder meeting,” PPF said.

“At the same time, PPF’s limited acceptance makes it impossible for PPF to continue its original role as a strategic investor, engaging with MFE on equal terms and contributing its expertise in building digital broadcasting media platforms.

“Nevertheless, it should be noted that PPF has acted as a catalyst for a meaningful improvement in MFE’s offer terms, which significantly raised ProSiebenSat.1’s valuation and created value for all shareholders.”

MFE’s offer for ProSiebenSat.1, which is led by CEO Bert Habets, is still ongoing, with official results due to be published on September 4.