After Spain, Mediaset turns its gaze towards the German market e buys 9,6% of the share capital of ProSiebenSat.1share which corresponds to voting rights of up to 9,9% of the voting capital excluding treasury shares. In doing so, the Cologno Monzese group officially becomes first shareholder of the German broadcaster together with The Capital group, which owns 9,98% of the capital of ProSiebenSat.
The announcement comes directly from the company led by Pier Silvio Berlusconi and follows by a few days that of its bitter rival Vivendi which, with its subsidiary Canal+, will acquire M7 for 1 billion euros and will enter 7 new European countries. Two unequivocal signs that the European media market has entered a period of great turmoil.
There is no official news on the acquisition price but as revealed by Radiocor, lThe operation would have cost less than 350 million euros and it would represent the first official step to be able to set up an industrial alliance with the German group.
The purchases on the market, explains the Milanese press agency, would have taken place over the last 5-6 weeks, a period in which the share listed on the Dax moved in the range of 13,7-15,5.
ProSiebenSat is the second European radio and television group by number of households reached, present in 13 states, including Austria and Switzerland, Sweden and the Netherlands, and listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. Relations with Mediaset Italia and Mediaset Espana have been active for some time, given that the three companies are allies within the European Media Alliance (EMA), an agreement which aims to develop economies of scale essential for the future of European TV.
"The friendly entry into ProSiebenSat.1 is a long-term choice to create value in an increasingly international logic – underlines the CEO of Mediaset Pier Silvio Berlusconi – And strengthen our industrial relations. Mediaset proudly invests in the future of European free TV. And just thinking about the future, the entry into the shareholding structure of ProSiebenSat.1 is a concrete demonstration of esteem by the Mediaset Group for the current management”.
“The rapid process of globalization which conditions the international scenario – he continues – in fact sees us European media operators in the need to join forces to continue to compete or even just resist in terms of European cultural identity to any hostile entrances from the global giants”.
The investment, the company's note specifies, "will not have any effect on the assessments that Mediaset's board of directors, scheduled for 25 July, will have to make regarding the dividend distribution proposal which must be submitted to a possible new Shareholders' Meeting”.
The reception of the German broadcaster was also positive: "We welcome Mediaset's investment and we read it as a vote of confidence in our strategy and in the team", commented the CEO Max Conze.
The news had been in the air since March, when Mediaset presented its 2018 financial statements and announced its intention to look around, evaluating potential opportunities abroad to create a strong alliance with a European partner.
In Piazza Affari, after opening negotiations with an increase of 1,8%, the Mediaset title turns red, losing 0,8% to 2,597 euros. Strong up in Frankfurt le ProSiebenSat shares, which gain 4,6% to 15,33 euros.
