Latest news with #BertHabets
Reuters
28-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Prosieben CEO stands by company strategy amid investor clash
May 28 (Reuters) - Prosiebensat.1 ( opens new tab CEO Bert Habets defended the German media company's renewed focus on its entertainment segment in a speech to the company's investors on Wednesday. "I am confident that we are on the right track to achieving our goal: becoming the number one entertainment player in the German-speaking region," Habets said. He added that after the divestiture of online comparison platform Verivox, the company would continue to focus on the sale of well-performing non-core assets, for instance online perfume retailer Flaconi. The company's annual general meeting comes against the backdrop of a power struggle between the company's two biggest shareholders, Italy's MFE-MediaForEurope ( opens new tab and Czech investment firm PPF. Habets did not address the rival takeover offers in his speech. The boards of ProSieben advised against MFE's bid, calling it "inadequate from a financial perspective". This stance was repeated by Andreas Wiele, outgoing chairman of the supervisory board, during a speech to the company's investors. "The supervisory board is the appropriate body to discuss, together with the executive board, the right strategy and new ideas for our company and where decisions should be made - not the public," Wiele said, addressing MFE directly. The Berlusconi family, which currently holds 30.14% in ProSieben, made a low-ball offer for the company in March, offering 4.48 euros in cash and 0.4 MFE A shares per ProSieben share.
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
ProSiebenSat.1 Media Investor PFF Offers Shareholders Alternative To MediaForEurope Takeover Bid
The latest twist in the ongoing tussle over ProSiebenSat.1 Media's future sees Czech investor PPF seeking to double its stake in the German broadcasting giant, challenging an existing takeover bid from MediaForEurope (MFE). PPF IM – currently ProSieben's second-largest shareholder – has made a public acquisition offer to increase its shareholding from around 15% to 29.99%, the most it can own without needing to launch a mandatory takeover bid. This is an all-cash offer of €7 a share for a currently undetermined amount of shares, which PPF noted was a 17% premium on the share price. More from Deadline ProSiebenSat.1 Media Cutting 430 Roles As Shareholders Jockey For Position Roku Acquires Streaming Bundle Service Frndly TV For $185M French Giant Banijay Enters Race To Buy ITV According to ProSieben, which announced the offer this morning, PPF has 'confirmed its full support for the company's strategy.' Both PPF and ProSieben called the offer an alternative to the lowball takeover bid leading shareholder MFE announced in March, and the Czech company noted its offer is offers 21% better value than that of its rival. The acceptance period on the MFE offer opened Friday. ProSieben's board, led by Group CEO Bert Habets, has been repositioning the company as a digital-first entertainment business built around European streamer Joyn. However, both PPF and leading shareholder MFE, the Berlusconi family media business that owns 30.14% of shares, have previously questioned the pace of change and urged the disposal of non-core assets in the dating and e-commerce spaces. The two investors had previously worked in lockstep, attempting to force change last year. However, PPF CEO Jiří Šmejc recently said he had not seen the MFE offer in full and would reveal his position once that was clear. It's apparent now that PPF doesn't think too highly of the bid. ProSieben said today PPF offer is not a precursor to a separate takeover bid. Instead, the company claims it will provider other shareholders with a way to cash in on short-term investments and is a 'better all-cash alternative' to MFE's offer. PPF will also seek more representation on the board in a bid to have a more hands-on management position. 'PPF has been a long-standing investor in ProSiebenSat.1 having a deep understanding of our business,' said Habets today. 'The executive board is supportive of PPF's increased commitment to ProSiebenSat.1, as evidenced by the terms of its offer, and appreciates its support for our digital transformation strategy.' It looks like the plan to sell e-commerce platform Verivox as part an agreement unveiled in March, which saw ProSieben buy the minority stakes of U.S.-based private investor General Atlantic in dating platform ParshipMeet and digital firm NuCom Group (excluding perfume e-retailer Flaconi), has appealed to PPF. The agreement saw General Atlantic take a 2.5% stake in ProSieben, which was lower than the 10% some were expecting. ProSieben is now in process of selling Verivox to Italian company Moltiply and is planning to divest dating service ParshipMeet and other non-core digital services. ProSieben has also continued to cut costs. Habets last week announced ProSieben would be cutting 430 roles as the tough financial outlook for European media groups continues. The company is aiming for full-year 2025 revenues of €4B ($3.4B), according to a full-year filing in March. PPF boss Šmejc said: 'We put forward a compelling all-cash offer and intend to take a much more active role in the Supervisory Board going forward. We hope that this is appealing to shareholders and stakeholders alike and paves the way for unlocking the potential of ProSiebenSat.1.' Didier Stoessel, Chief Investment Officer of PPF Group, added: 'We are a long-term investor and reliable partner to the companies we have invested in. Despite ProSiebenSat.1's challenges and the turbulent market environment, I believe that the ProSiebenSat.1 management has the right strategy in place, which we fully support. I also believe that there is a general alignment among all stakeholders to divest non-core assets at the right valuation and execute the much-needed digital transformation of the core media segment. 'With a stronger shareholding and proportionate Supervisory Board representation, we will be in a position to more actively support the ProSiebenSat.1 management with our experience, namely in the digital revitalization of linear TV business models.' Former Paramount and ITV Studios international chief Maria Kyriacou could play a key role in the future of ProSieben, having been put forward as a candidate to replace the outgoing Andreas Wiele as Chair of the ProSieben Supervisory Board last month. MFE, owner of Mediaset in Italy and Spain, wants to build a European TV giant that can stand up to U.S. streaming services. Best of Deadline 2025 TV Series Renewals: Photo Gallery 2025 TV Cancellations: Photo Gallery All The Songs In Netflix's 'Forever': From Tyler The Creator To SZA Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Reuters
06-03-2025
- Business
- Reuters
ProSieben's results hit by lower TV ad spend for third year in a row
March 6 (Reuters) - German media company ProSiebenSat.1 ( opens new tab said on Thursday that customers' lower spending on TV advertisements dented its annual results for a third consecutive year in 2024. It reported adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of 557 million euros ($601.8 million) for the year, down 3.6% from the 578 million euros in 2023. The decline was mainly caused by weaker investments by TV advertising customers, as those correlate to lesser private consumption in a challenging economic environment, it said. Adjusted EBITDA in the Entertainment segment fell 12% to 416 million euros in 2024, with the biggest hit to the TV advertising business coming in the final quarter of the year, it added. "We expect TV advertising sales to continue to fall slightly, particularly in the first half of the year," its CEO Bert Habets said in a statement about 2025. Late on Wednesday, the company said it was in talks with General Atlantic (GA) over a potential acquisition of GA's minority stakes in ProSieben's internet holding NuCom Group — excluding price comparison website Verivox and perfume e-retailer Flaconi — and its online dating platform ParshipMeet Group. This would make ProSiebenSat.1 the only owner of NuCom and ParshipMeet, while it seeks third party buyers for Verivox and Flaconi. If a deal is reached, GA will be paid either through a convertible bond or ProSiebenSat.1 shares, it said. The group's management came under pressure last year to sell its non-broadcasting business, in a campaign led by its top two shareholders, MFE-MediaForEurope ( opens new tab and Czech investment group PPF. ($1 = 0.9256 euros)
