San Francisco Frontiers - German broadcast giant backs takeover by Berlusconi group

MFE, led by Pier Silvio Berlusconi, son of the late media tycoon and politician, aims to build a pan-European group big enough to compete with increasingly popular streaming giants.

But the German government has expressed concern that journalistic independence could be affected by a takeover.

MFE had been competing for ProSieben against Czech group PPF.

But ProSieben said its management had now decided to recommend that its shareholders accept the Italian bid, which values the German group at nearly 1.9 billion euros ($2.2 billion).

The offer "underscores MFE's long-term investment and continued commitment to ProSiebenSat.1.," the German company, which operates 15 TV channels, said in a statement.

Last week the Italian group boosted the share component of its bid to 1.3 MFE shares for each of ProSieben's shares, while keeping the cash component the same at 4.48 euros per share.

This values the shares of the German group at around eight euros, above PPF's all-cash offer of seven euros a share, which aimed to double its holding. PPF decided not to raise its own offer.

The Italian group, which already owned a stake in ProSieben prior to seeking a takeover, will have to contend with worries in Berlin.

Last month, German Culture Minister Wolfram Weimer told news outlet Der Spiegel that he was "concerned about the outcome" of the moves to take over ProSieben.

"My concern revolves around the question of whether journalistic and economic independence will be preserved even after a change of ownership," he said, adding that Pier Silvio Berlusconi had been invited for talks in Berlin on the matter.

Silvio Berlusconi, who dominated Italian politics in the late 1990s and early 2000s, died in 2023.

U.Campbell--SFF