Mediaset has applied for approval from the German competition regulator saying it intends to take a “significant competitive interest” in ProSiebenSat.1.

A nod from the regulator would see the Italian group further increase its stake in ProSiebenSat.1 from 20.1 per cent to 25 per cent. It would also open the way for Mediaset to vote at ProSiebenSat.1’s planned shareholder meeting in June.

Mediaset announced two weeks ago that Mediaset España, its Spanish unit with which it plans to merge under the stalled MediaForEurope project, had acquired a 4.25 per cent stake in the German company. The move took the Spanish unit’s stake in ProSiebenSat.1 to 9.75 per cent. The parent Mediaset group owns a further 9.6 per cent.

Mediaset has been taking advantage of the significant fall in ProSiebenSat.1 stock, down by 60 per cent on a year ago.

Categories: Articles, Business, M&A