MFE's stake in ProSieben rises above 70% after takeover bid, sources say

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By Elvira Pollina and Klaus Lauer MFE-MediaForEurope MIL:MFEA has secured a stake of above 70% in ProSiebenSat.1 XETR:PSM following its takeover bid for the German broadcaster, sources close to the matter told Reuters on Wednesday.The takeover is part of wider push by MFE, controlled by Italy's Berlusconi family, to create a European ad-funded TV platform.Official results of the offer, which valued ProSieben at about 1.8 billion euros ($2.1 billion) and ended earlier this week, will be published on Thursday. MFE and ProSieben both declined to comment.MFE, which runs TV operations in Italy and Spain, sees European expansion as vital to withstand U.S. streaming giants such as Netflix NASDAQ:NFLX and YouTube NASDAQ:GOOG, which are grabbing advertising spending and viewers.With a stake of in excess of 70%, MFE is in a stronger position to advance any plan to integrate ProSieben, which also operates in Austria and Switzerland, into its existing operations.MFE had been gradually building its stake since 2019, reaching a level of nearly 30% before launching a takeover bid earlier this year. It had already effectively secured a majority stake in ProSieben last week after Czech group PPF, the second largest investor, announced it would tender its stake to MFE. According to research firm Enders Analysis, once ProSieben is consolidated, MFE will claim the title of the biggest free-to-air broadcasting operator in Europe, with revenues of 6.8 billion euros. ($1 = 0.8542 euros)

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