Vivendi sues Mediaset for defamation
March 22, 2017
From Branislav Pekic in Rome
French media group Vivendi has filed a civil petition demanding damages from Italian broadcaster Mediaset and Berlusconi family holding company Fininvest.
Vivendi is arguing that it was the victim of a defamatory media campaign over its aborted agreement to take over pay-TV unit Mediaset Premium, legal sources told Italian media.
The amount of the requested damages has not been made public.
For its part, Mediaset last year launched a civil action against Vivendi asking for the execution of the contract signed on April 8th 2016, which provided for the sale of Mediaset Premium and an exchange of shares between Mediaset and Vivendi, and compensation of €50 million for each month of delay in the execution.
Fininvest also launched a lawsuit quantifying at €570 million the damages from the loss of image and fall of Mediaset’s share price.
In the latest twist, Mediaset has now filed a lawsuit against Vivendi following several recent interviews by CEO Arnauld de Puyfontaine on the ‘reconstruction’ of the facts relating to the contract signed last year between the two companies.