Dynasties at war over Berlusconis’ plan for European TV empire
IT IS a battle that has two of the Continent’s wealthiest dynasties going head to head.
Both have dreams of a pan-european television empire capable of withstanding the streaming onslaught of US tech giants – and both have a history of giving their opponents no quarter.
On one side is the Berlusconi family, headed by media tycoon and former Italian prime minister Silvio, now 82 and back in frontline politics as a member of the European Parliament.
The Berlusconis aim to use their broadcaster, Mediaset, as the cornerstone of a venture that would combine many of Europe’s traditional channels, perhaps one day including ITV.
Standing in the way, across the Alps, is the Bollore family led by 67-year-old patriarch Vincent. They control the French media giant Vivendi, which has taken a stake of nearly 30pc in Mediaset and is working to disrupt the plans.
Vivendi, which owns Canal+, has long held ambitions of uniting European broadcasters under its own umbrella. Now Mr Bollore is in danger of watching his visions of super-moguldom realised by Pier Silvio Berlusconi, 50-year-old chief executive of Mediaset and eldest son of populist Silvio.
Pier Silvio, backed by his sisters Barbara and Marina – chairman of the family holding company Fininvest, aims to merge Mediaset with separately listed sister company Mediaset Espana, the largest TV network in Spain.
The combination is due to be incorporated in the Netherlands under the banner Mediaforeurope. In May, as a signal of intent, Pier Silvio and Mediaset took a stake of almost 10pc in the German broadcaster Prosieben.
He also named the French channel TF1 as a potential target in a roll-up of traditional broadcasters attempting to adjust to the success of streaming and rapidly shifting viewing habits. ITV, Europe’s second most valuable commercial broadcaster, also figures somewhere in Pier Silvio’s thinking.
Mediaforeurope, with initial access to 107m viewers, will have stronger bargaining power with rights holders and pay-tv operators, he claimed. The heft will help it compete better with the likes of Netflix and Amazon, according to the investor presentation.
Mr Bollore’s plans were based on similar logic, but he became bogged down in a long and damaging battle with the activist fund, Elliott, over control of Telecom Italia, another Vivendi adventure south of the Alps.
He is now attempting to block the creation of Mediaforeurope in Mediaset shareholder votes early next month. However, Italian regulators have effectively barred Vivendi from casting its votes due to its control of Telecom Italia and concerns over cross-ownership of media and telecoms.
Last night, sources said Vivendi was working on legal challenges, but for now Mr Bollore must hope other shareholders such as Invesco and Blackrock follow the advice of advisory group ISS.
Its report on the plan for Mediaset Espana shareholders said: “The proposed governance structure has the clear goal of cementing the control of the Berlusconi family, apparently to pursue an M&A growth strategy without losing control of the combined company.”