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Investing.com -- ProSiebenSat.1, a German TV group, has enlisted the help of defence advisers including Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS), following a takeover bid from its largest investor, MFE-MediaForEurope. This information comes from Reuters, citing two individuals knowledgeable about the situation. MFE, controlled by the Berlusconi family of Italy, last week made a bid for the shares of ProSieben it does not own, offering the minimum price as per German law. This price is equivalent to the volume-weighted average price of ProSieben shares over the past three months.
The defence strategy of ProSiebenSat.1 might be constrained due to the structure of MFE’s bid. However, it is expected to include measures to enhance performance across the group’s various businesses, as shared by one of the individuals. These sources requested anonymity as they were not authorized to comment publicly. No comments were provided by ProSiebenSat.1, Morgan Stanley, or MFE.
MFE, with commercial TV operations in Italy and Spain, initiated the bid as part of a broader plan to establish a pan-European advertising-funded broadcaster. This strategy has been resisted by ProSieben, which prefers to maintain its independence. MFE has also agreed to purchase shares from an existing ProSieben investor, raising its 29.9% stake to the 30% threshold, which triggers a takeover bid. This agreement holds regardless of the result of the buyout offer.
This arrangement implies that MFE can acquire additional ProSieben shares in the market once the offer period concludes, without needing to repeat a formal offer to all investors. Earlier this week, the German market regulator BaFin confirmed the cash and share bid price at 5.74 euros per share. This values the offer at approximately 940 million euros.
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