Foreign investors have revived interest in Italy’s broadcasting giant Mediaset, according to media reports.Earlier today, Reuters cited two sources close to the matter saying that Sky Italia had approached the Silvio Berlusconi-controlled group to buy…
Foreign investors have revived interest in Italy’s broadcasting giant Mediaset, according to media reports.
Earlier today, Reuters cited two sources close to the matter saying that Sky Italia had approached the Silvio Berlusconi-controlled group to buy its pay-TV business Mediaset Premium but was rebuffed.
However, according to one of the sources, informal talks between the parties continued.
The report also suggested that Qatar’s Al Jazeera had resumed talks with Mediaset over its pay-TV unit, which is 89% owned by the broadcaster and 11% controlled by Spain’s Telefonica.
“I think Al Jazeera is really pushing pay-TV and sports rights”, a banker told TelecomFinance. The broadcaster is reportedly close to buying Turkish DTH firm Digiturk, and had been linked in the Spanish press to interest in Canal Plus, also known as Distribuidora de Television Digital, as a potential partner for buyer Telefonica. State-backed Qatari groups are also active in European football, with Qatar Airways sponsoring FC Barcelona and Qatar Sports Investments owning Paris St Germain.
In a separate report today, French publication La Lettre de l’Expansion said that media group Vivendi is “actively” looking to acquire Mediaset, as well as well as independent film studio Europacorp.
Mediaset, Sky Italia and Al Jazeera did not reply to requests for comment, while Vivendi declined to comment.
Last year, Mediaset Premium won exclusive rights to broadcast Champions League matches in Italy, valued at €700m (US$760m), dealing a blow to rival Sky, which earlier this month inked a content partnership with Telecom Italia(TI).
TI is also negotiating a similar deal with Mediaset, in a bid to expand into the quad-play segment.
In April last year, Mediaset confirmed rumours that its pay-TV business had attracted expressions of interest from several foreign companies, two days after denying press speculation that a deal had been reached with Qatari media group Al Jazeera and Vivendi-owned French DTH firm Canal+.
Analysts believe that Mediaset could be a good strategic option for Vivendi, which is reviewing pay-TV targets, having nearly exited telecoms investments in France, Brazil and Morocco, with a view to focusing on media and content.
The Paris-based group, which will receive €15bn from the divestments, is also set to become Telecom Italia’s single largest shareholder, having recently acquired 8.3% of Telefonica’s voting rights in the telco via its sale of Brazilian broadband provider GVT. Bankers expect Vivendi chairman Vincent Bollore to advise Telecom Italia on its own pay-TV strategy.
