Germany’s ProSiebenSat.1 Media SE tamped down talk of a merger with Silvio Berlusconi’s MFE-MediaForEurope NV, after the death of the Italian media mogul and former prime minister this week.
(Bloomberg) — Germany’s ProSiebenSat.1 Media SE tamped down talk of a merger with Silvio Berlusconi’s MFE-MediaForEurope NV, after the death of the Italian media mogul and former prime minister this week.
“The devil’s in the detail and we need to be in control of our own destiny,” ProSieben Chief Executive Officer Bert Habets said at a press conference in Frankfurt late Tuesday in response to a question about a potential merger with its largest shareholder.
MFE, previously known as Mediaset, holds a stake of about 29% in ProSieben, including derivatives, and has said it would like to combine with the German broadcaster. In recent years, it has developed a European group of free-to-air broadcasters through a series of cross-border acquisitions as it seeks to counter competition from US media giants Netflix Inc. and Amazon.com Inc.
MFE shares have surged 20% since Berlusconi’s death on speculation that his heirs could sell assets or pursue potential mergers and acquisitions for his empire, which includes Italy’s biggest commercial broadcaster. So far his family is presenting a united stance.
“Now we have to look ahead and commit ourselves even more, more and more,” MFE Chief Executive Officer Pier Silvio Berlusconi, who is a son of Berlusconi’s, wrote in a letter to the company’s employees on Tuesday.
Read More: Berlusconi Death to Reshape Italian Media and Political Empires
Habets, who took over at ProSieben in November, said he would be open to cooperation on streaming platforms with MFE and the company’s second-biggest shareholder, PPF Group NV. PPF is controlled by Czech billionaire Renata Kellnerova and holds a 15% stake in the German broadcaster.
“If there is an industry logic of working together and if we have something that can be rolled out in Eastern Europe or Italy, we’ll definitely consider it,” Habets said.
He outlined his strategy of reinvigorating streaming platform Joyn and its two main channels, Sat1 and ProSieben.
“We’ll accelerate local content developments” and continue to seek partners for the platform, he said, adding that he will provide an update later this year.
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