RTI-Mediaset takes 100% of Mediaset Premium
June 20, 2017
From Branislav Pekic in Rome
Italian broadcasting group RTI-Mediaset has acquired an 11.1 per cent stake in Mediaset Premium from Telefonica. As a result of the transaction, RTI-Mediaset now holds 100 per cent of the capital stock of the pay-TV operator.
The Spanish telecommunications operator, through its subsidiary Telefonica de Contenidos, had purchased the Mediaset Premium shares in January 2015 for €100 million. At the time, Mediaset claimed that the investment reflected an equity value of €900 million for the new Italian pay-TV company.
Meanwhile, Vivendi has filed an appeal with a regional administrative court in Italy against the April 18th decision of the Communications Authority (AgCom), which obliges the French company of choosing between controlling telecom operator TIM and a 29.9 per cent shareholding in Mediaset.
Financial and market sources told Italian media that Vivendi will inform the telecommunications regulator that it is ready to comply with the resolution through the freezing of voting rights of over 9.9 per cent in Mediaset.