Mediaset said on Friday it was considering bidding for German TV broadcaster ProSiebenSat.1 in a potentially major overseas expansion by the group controlled by former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's family.
Confirming a report in Italian daily Il Messaggero, a spokesman for the Italian broadcaster said the board would meet next Tuesday to decide whether to go ahead with a bid for a 50.5 percent stake in ProSiebenSat.1, which according to Reuters data has a market value of about 5 billion euros ($6.4 billion).
"It will consider the (possibility) of making an offer," he said, adding that ProSiebenSat.1 had invited bids for the stake and set next week as the deadline for submitting them.
Tuesday is also the day when Mediaset is to publish its third-quarter results. A ProSiebenSat.1 spokeswoman declined comment. Shares in ProSiebenSat.1 jumped 4.4 percent at the opening of trade in Frankfurt before settling at 23.40 euros, up 1.83 percent. In Milan, Mediaset was up 1.1 percent at 8.84 euros.
Il Messaggero said Mediaset had hired Citigroup to advise it on a bid, adding that the winning bidder would then be obliged to make an offer for the entire company.
The Italian newspaper cited France's TF1, General Electric's NBC Universal and Spain's Antena 3 as potential bidders, as well as private equity firms Apax Partners, Permira, and Blackstone.
Speculation has been mounting amid intense media scrutiny about the future ownership of ProSiebenSat.1 after it earlier this year was forced to abandon a deal to be acquired by German publisher Axel Springer because of regulatory concerns.
People familiar with the situation told Reuters on October 20 that US billionaire Haim Saban, the main investor in the German broadcaster, was leading talks among private equity firms about a possible sale of their stakes in ProSiebenSat.1.
These people said the talks could lead to a sale of the entire company. The ownership group, known as German Media Partners, includes Saban, Providence Equity Partners, Bain Capital, Hellman & Friedman, Thomas H. Lee Partners, Quadrangle Group, Alpine Equity Partners and Putnam Investments.
The group, which owns the stake and 88 percent of the voting shares, had agreed to sell ProSiebenSat.1 to Axel Springer, but competition watchdogs shot down the deal earlier this year. Saban and his partners paid 7.50 euros per common share for ProSiebenSat.1 three years ago. The deal with Springer was for 23.37 euros a share. J.P. Morgan and Morgan Stanley are advising German Media Partners.
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