As expected, Italian media company MediaForEurope (MFE) has launched a €1.3 billion bid to takeover German broadcaster ProSiebenSat.1, as part of its plan for a pan-European free TV hub.
As TVBEurope reported yesterday, the board of MFE met to decide on Wednesday afternoon to decide whether to launch a bid for the German company.
MFE currently holds 29.9 per cent of ProSieben, just beneath the level at which a takeover bid would be mandatory under German law.
“It is time to switch gear,” said MFE CEO Pier Silvio Berlusconi in a statement. “We believe that ProSiebenSat.1 needs a strong shareholder that can provide expertise and experience in the industry, making an active contribution to its growth journey.”
Berlusconi added that the company’s aim is to create a “cross-media, cross-national pan-European group that naturally acts as an alternative to the digital giants and succeeds in the ambitious goal of being able to compete and grow”.
In its own statement, ProSieben said its Executive Board and Supervisory Board of ProSiebenSat.1 “will carefully review the offer” and will issue a “reasoned opinion”.
