Vivendi Reaches 20% Threshold of Mediaset Share Capital
15 December 2016 - 5:08AM
Dow Jones News
By Nick Kostov
PARIS--Vivendi SA, the French film, TV, telecom and videogame
giant controlled by Chairman Vincent Bollore, said Wednesday it now
holds 20% of Mediaset SpA, the Italian broadcaster founded and
controlled by former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.
The latest share purchase again raises the stakes in the battle
between two of the world's biggest media moguls. Monday, the French
firm said it had 3% of Mediaset as part of its efforts to expand
into Southern Europe. It raised that stake to 12.3% on Tuesday.
Fininvest, the holding company that is Mediaset's biggest
shareholder and controlled by the Berlusconi family, called
Vivendi's earlier share purchases a hostile takeover attempt. It
also said late Tuesday that it has acquired more Mediaset shares
and options, with a plan to soon have a 38.3% stake, up from its
previous stake of just under 35%.
Mr. Bollore's moves come as Vivendi and Mediaset are about to
fight in court over the validity of a deal signed earlier this
year. In April, they reached a partnership agreement under which
they would reciprocally swap a 3.5% stake and Vivendi would buy
Mediaset's pay TV business.
Vivendi subsequently asked to change some of the terms of the
deal, leading to the collapse of the agreement and a lawsuit
launched by Mediaset against the French media company.
Write to Nick Kostov at nick.kostov@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
December 14, 2016 12:53 ET (17:53 GMT)
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