"Certainly it was not solicited, but it is not a hostile act": this is the position expressed today by Vivendi, answering a question from Ansa in Paris on the recent and aggressive takeover of Mediaset, which led the French media group to take a 20% stake in the Alfa Romeo. In a few days, after announcing it through a press release released last Friday, Vivendi climbed from 3% stake to 20%: an operation defined as hostile even by the Italian Government and which triggered the immediate reaction of the Berlusconi family, which through Fininvest strengthened its position rising yesterday to 38,5%. “We have no intention of letting anyone try to downsize our role as entrepreneurs – declared Silvio Berlusconi -. This is why we have increased our participation and will continue to do so within the limits permitted by law".
Vivendi, what today on the Paris Stock Exchange it gains more than 1% at 18,27 euros per share (around 16.30pm), but which reached the maximum at the beginning of the week with 18,9 euros on Monday 12 December, however denies having taken a hostile action: “We want to extend and strengthen our position in southern Europe which is strategic for us. For this reason we have decided to acquire the shares of Mediaset”. The Biscione, on the other hand, loses about 0,9%, when the markets close in an hour (in the end it will be the only Ftse Mib stock in the red together with Banca Mediolanum), but it does so after a triumphant week to say the least. during which it gained more than 30% in value: on Monday it is worth 2,71, today it is worth 3,59 euros.
Meanwhile Mediaset, according to rumors from Milano Finanza, would be ready to go on the counterattack: the Berlusconi family would in fact be considering buying a package of Telecom Italia, of which Vivendi is the reference shareholder, precisely to defend against the takeover by Vincent Bollorè's group. Consistent with this hypothesis, today Telecom Italia is the most traded stock on Piazza Affari, where it gained 3,5% in the afternoon to 0,7915 euro per share.
Various figures from the political and financial world are taking sides on the matter, for what is increasingly becoming a high-voltage Italy-France derby: yesterday the Minister of Economic Development Carlo Calenda assured that "the Government will monitor the situation", while Carlo Messina, CEO of Intesa Sanpaolo also spoke today: "We support Mediaset, Italian companies must remain Italian".
