Latest news with #Berlusconi
Reuters
6 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
ProSiebenSat.1 offer by PPF receives regulatory approval
June 4 (Reuters) - One of ProSiebenSat.1's ( opens new tab two top shareholders, Czech investment group PPF, said on Wednesday that it has received approval by Germany's financial watchdog for its all-cash bid for more shares of the German media company. PPF is ProSieben's second-biggest shareholder after MFE-MediaforEurope ( opens new tab, the company controlled by Italy's Berlusconi family. PPF has offered to buy ProSieben shares at a 21% premium to the price implied by a bid from MFE, aiming to reach a holding of up to 29.99% holding. The acceptance period of PPF's offer starts on Wednesday and ends on August 13, the company said in a statement. Under German law, the acceptance period for MFE's offer will now also end at midnight on the same day. PPF said it seeks proportionate Supervisory Board representation.
Reuters
23-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Czech group PPF open to teaming up with Berlusconis' MFE on ProSieben bid, sources say
LONDON, May 23 (Reuters) - Czech investment group PPF could consider teaming up with MFE-MediaforEurope ( opens new tab, the company controlled by Italy's Berlusconi family, to bid for German broadcaster ProSiebenSat.1 ( opens new tab, two people close to the matter said. MFE, which runs commercial TV operations in Italy and Spain, made a low-ball cash and share bid for ProSieben in March as part of a push to create a pan-European broadcaster, a strategy resisted by the German firm which wants to remain independent. PPF, whose 14.94% stake makes it ProSieben's second-biggest shareholder after MFE with 30.14%, earlier this month offered to buy ProSieben shares at a 21% premium to the price implied by MFE's bid, aiming to reach an up to 29.99% holding. The move, which was welcomed by ProSieben, complicates plans by MFE to tighten its grip on the Bavaria-based company. However, PPF, which owns private TV stations across six Eastern European countries, is open to considering a joint bid with MFE among options under review for ProSieben, although no decision has been made yet, the people said. PPF has not approached MFE about teaming up and there haven't been contacts between the two companies, the sources said. MFE and PPF declined to comment. MFE is also reviewing its options after PPF's bid, including a potential increase of its own 950-million-euro ($1.1 billion) offer, which was pitched at the minimum level allowed by German takeover law, sources told Reuters last week. On Thursday, ProSieben advised shareholders against MFE's "inadequate" takeover bid. Having already crossed a 30% threshold which triggers a mandatory full takeover under German law, MFE will be free to buy additional shares on the market once its current bid lapses. MFE saw PPF's offer as a way to increase its sway over ProSieben and potentially boost its bargaining power with MFE in the future, sources have previously said. Any potential joint bid would require PPF and MFE to find common ground on how to run ProSieben, which could be a sticking point for MFE as the Milan-listed company wants to play a leading role at the German firm, a third source said. ($1 = 0.8828 euros)
Reuters
22-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
ProSieben boards advise against MFE takeover offer
MUNICH, Germany, May 22 (Reuters) - The executive and supervisory boards of ProSiebenSat.1 ( opens new tab have recommended not to accept a takeover offer from MFE-MediaForEurope ( opens new tab, the TV broadcaster controlled by Italy's Berlusconi family, the company said on Thursday. "Both governing bodies have concluded that the offer is inadequate from a financial perspective," ProSiebenSat.1 said in a statement, adding that it "does not reflect the expected future development of the value of the company". MFE, which has commercial TV operations in Italy and Spain, made a low-ball bid for ProSieben in March as part of a push to create a pan-European broadcaster - a move resisted by the German company, which is striving to remain independent. Earlier this month, Czech investment group PPF launched a bid to lift its stake in the German broadcaster to just under 30%, countering those plans by MFE.
Reuters
14-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Breakingviews - Berlusconis' German TV raid is worth resisting
LONDON, May 14 (Reuters Breakingviews) - German 1.7-billion-euro broadcaster ProSiebenSat. 1 Media ( opens new tab has found itself at the centre of an unlikely M&A drama. Its two largest shareholders, Italy's MFE-MediaForEurope ( opens new tab and Czech investment group PPF, seem to be jostling for control of the company – but so far without launching conventional takeover bids that stand a chance of persuading all minority shareholders to sell. It's starting to reflect a broader debate about the right way to modernise Europe's struggling linear TV sector. MFE, the vehicle of Italy's Berlusconi family, made a lowball cash and shares offer for the German broadcaster in March. It now owns just over 30% of the company. ProSieben shares have largely traded above the live value of that bid in recent weeks, according to Breakingviews calculations, suggesting that few investors will tender. That may be the point, from the Berlusconis' perspective, since it's more economical to control a company with a large minority stake rather than owning the whole thing and having to consolidate the debt. PPF, with other European media assets and a 15% holding in ProSieben, is taking a different approach. On Monday it offered, opens new tab 7 euros per share in cash but said it would only end up with a maximum 29.99% stake in the German group, which broadcasts shows including the Teutonic version of "The Masked Singer". That price was 17% higher than ProSieben's Friday closing price and 21% above MFE's live bid value, PPF said, but it's not available to all shareholders by virtue of the bidder's self-imposed ownership cap. The Italian side is now considering raising its offer in response, Reuters reported on Wednesday citing a source close to the matter. Unless either suitor changes tack and makes a knockout bid for the whole company, the stakes are nuanced for other shareholders. It may end up being a question of which pushy investors' favoured strategy carries the day. The Berlusconis seem likely to want closer collaboration with MFE's Italian and Spanish TV properties. A person familiar with PPF's plans, meanwhile, told Breakingviews that it would pursue greater investment in local content and support a digital overhaul, with a focus on modernising the company's streaming offering. The Czech recipe, so far, looks better - not least because there is minimal evidence that MFE's cross-border plan would yield much in the way of cost savings or revenue boosters. PPF's strategy, by contrast, could include the alluring idea of seeking a distribution deal with a U.S. streamer, allowing ProSieben to offer prestigious U.S. shows alongside local fare. France's Canal+ (CAN.L), opens new tab, which has an agreement with Warner Bros. Discovery's (WBD.O), opens new tab Max, offers a template. Admittedly, the average investor in the German group might prefer to be cashed out in full at a meaningful premium through a conventional takeover offer. But for now, that's not on the table. Follow @jenjohn_, opens new tab on X CONTEXT NEWS Czech investment group PPF on May 12 offered to buy shares in ProSiebenSat.1 Media to lift its 15% stake in the German broadcaster to almost 30%. MFE-MediaForEurope, controlled by Italy's Berlusconi family, in March made an offer for all of ProSieben. It currently has slightly more than 30% of the stock. PPF said its 7-euros-per-share bid represented a premium of more than 17% to the target's closing price on May 9 and a 21% premium to MFE's cash-and-share offer. Reuters reported on May 14, citing a source close to the matter, that MFE was considering raising its bid for ProSieben in response to PPF's move. The German group's shares were trading at 7.28 euros as of 0848 GMT on May 14.
Reuters
14-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
MFE weighing raising offer for ProSieben in response to PPF, source says
MILAN, May 14 (Reuters) - MFE-MediaForEurope ( opens new tab, the TV broadcaster controlled by Italy's Berlusconi family, is considering raising its offer for Germany's ProSiebenSat.1 ( opens new tab, a source close to the matter said on Wednesday. The move, one of many options being considered on which no decision has yet been made, would be in response to Czech investment group PPF saying this week it would raise its stake in the German broadcaster, the source said. MFE declined to comment. MFE, which has commercial TV operations in Italy and Spain, made a low-ball bid for ProSieben in March as part of its plan to create a pan-European broadcaster. Analysts say PPF's move complicates MFE's efforts to tighten its grip on ProSieben. The German company, which wants to remain independent, has welcomed PPF's decision. MFE held a board meeting on Tuesday, after which a source close to the company said it remained committed to strengthening its role as the leading investor in Prosieben. PPF, the second-biggest shareholder with 14.94%, said on Monday it would buy more shares at 7 euros each, to acquire a stake of up to 29.99%. MFE owns 30.14% of ProSieben. PPF is offering a 17% premium over Friday's closing price and a 21% premium to the price implied by MFE's cash-and-share bid.
