By Elvira Pollina
MILAN -Italian broadcaster MediaForEurope (MFE) said on Wednesday it had raised its potential voting stake in ProSiebensat.1 to 29.9%, cementing its position as the German media group's single biggest shareholder.
Controlled by the family of former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and formerly known as Mediaset, MFE has long seen tie-ups among European peers as the answer to stiff competition in the industry from online streaming giants.
Milan-listed MFE said it has secured an additional stake of up to 4% in ProSiebensat's capital through financial instruments, which would raise MFE's voting stake in the German TV group up to 29.9%.
MFE did not disclose the financial details of the transaction, Reuters' calculations based on Refinitiv data show that a 4% stake is worth around 66 million euros at current market prices.
The potential stake is just below the 30% ownership threshold which under German laws triggers a mandatory buyout offer.
Munich-based ProSieben has showed little interest so far in MFE's call for closer cooperation focused on their core TV business, pursuing instead a standalone strategy and also investing in tech businesses such as e-commerce and online dating.
The stakebuilding could give MFE a bigger say over the German rival's strategy.
MFE, which started investing in ProSiebensat in 2019, does not have any representative on the company's supervisory board.
Last month Prosiebensat.1, whose share price has lost around 50% since the start of the year, cut its 2022 financial targets after appointing a second chief executive in the span of two years.
