The Berlusconi family’s MediaForEurope (MFE) has secured over three quarters of voting shares in ProSiebenSat.1 Media – finally handing it control of the German broadcasting giant.Final results of its voluntary public takeover offer to existing shareholders gave MFE a total stake of 75.61%.MFE had already secured a majority of the shares through the initial results of the share acquisition process, but going over 75% means the Italy-based company gets full access to ProSieben’s earnings, which can now be consolidated into its own spreadsheets.MFE already owns Mediaset in Italy and Mediaset España, and will likely now become Europe‘s largest broadcasting group. MFE CEO Pier Silvio Berlusconi believes only a business of this scale can compete with digital rivals such as Netflix and YouTube.The deal values ProSieben at around €1.8B ($2.1B) and brings to an end one of the most drawn-out corporate takeovers of recent memory. MFE has been agitating ProSieben’s management for a number of years to accelerate its digital transformation and offload non-core businesses. While this was met with some opposition, several subsidiaries were sold as ProSieben re-centered its business around European streamer Joyn, which operates in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.MFE has been building its stake in ProSieben since 2019 and before the voluntary takeover process began, it owned about 30%. It became involved in a tussle with rival shareholder PPF IM, which last month decided to end its pursuit of control and sell up to MFE.“MFE becoming our majority shareholder marks an important milestone for ProSiebenSat.1,” said ProSieben Group CEO Bert Habets. “Together, we cover five core European markets, with ProSiebenSat.1 being a leader in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, and MFE in Italy and Spain, reaching a combined population of about 210 million people.“In the coming weeks, we will work closely with MFE to identify the most promising opportunities for a deepened collaboration and align our vision for the future. I would also like to sincerely thank PPF for their commitment and valuable strategic contributions as a major shareholder over the past three years, which have helped to accelerate ProSiebenSat.1’s transformation.”The takeover has been met with apprehension in Germany, with one journalists’ group claiming the Berlusconis will take ProSieben editorially to the right and could put jobs at risk.According to Reuters, Berlusconi – son of Mediaset founder and former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi – met with German Culture Commissioner Wolfram Weimer in Berlin. A joint statement issued after the meeting noted “MFE reaffirmed its strong commitment to Germany as a location and to preserving editorial independence.”“We want to produce and offer more localised content tailored to the German audience: more news, more entertainment shows, and more TV series – and over time, fewer acquired formats – just as we already do in Italy and Spain,” said Berlusconi, per Reuters. “We aim to preserve jobs and strengthen ProSiebenSat.1’s roots in Bavaria, Germany.”
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