Berlusconi family gains control of ProSiebenSat.1
The Berlusconi family-controlled group Media for Europe (MFE) can now call the shots at ProSiebenSat.1. After the extended acceptance period for the takeover offer ended on September 1, the Italian company holds 75.61% of the share capital, MFE announced in a mandatory disclosure on Thursday. (In terms of voting rights, the figure is 75.67%. The difference is due to ProSiebenSat.1’s own shares, which are not entitled to vote.)
„Most promising opportunities“
MFE’s shares in Milan rose 7% to 3.46 euros on the news. For one ProSiebenSat.1 share, the Italians offered 4.48 euros in cash plus 1.3 of their own A-shares, which amounted to 8.98 euros based on the day’s closing price.
In a statement from ProSiebenSat.1, CEO Bert Habets spoke about his expectations for the near future: „In the coming weeks, we will work closely with MFE to identify the most promising opportunities for a deepened collaboration and align our vision for the future," he said.
Naturally, the script is now dictated by MFE.
Priority for national programming
In a discussion with Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media Wolfram Weimer in Berlin last week, last on Tuesday in Berlin, MFE CEO Pier Silvio Berlusconi outlined his plans for ProSiebenSat.1 as part of a pan-European media platform: „We want to produce and offer a more localised lineup, tailored even more closely to the German audience – with more news, more entertainment shows, and more TV series", he said. This approach is already being implemented in Italy and Spain.
Due to the slump in the high margin television advertising market, revenues and profits of private TV companies are declining. MFE is therefore expected, at least initially, to maintain continuity in the management of ProSiebenSat.1, according to industry sources. Any changes in the ProSiebenSat.1 board are also likely to depend on the company’s economic performance.
Supervisory board will undergo changes
MFE holds four of the nine seats on the supervisory board of ProSiebenSat.1. It is assumed that the two representatives of the Czech investment company PPF will step down. If they do not do so voluntarily, MFE will likely push for their dismissal. At the end of August, PPF decided to tender its 15.7% stake in ProSiebenSat.1 to MFE.
The Bavarian Regulatory Authority for New Media is responsible for overseeing ProSiebenSat.1. Its president, Thorsten Schmiege, told the news agency Reuters that, from a purely legal standpoint, there is no need to fear a dominant opinion from MFE. However if Berlusconi, like his father, were to enter politics, the situation would need to be reassessed. The MFE CEO does not rule out a political engagement, as he stated this summer.
