Italy: Court rules in favor of Vivendi in Mediaset restructuring

An Italian court ruled in favor of a petition filed by French media giant Vivendi to vote against Mediaset’s reorganization plan, the two companies announced on Saturday, August 31, reported the Financial Times.

Vivendi, which owns Canal + and Universal, had filed a request with the court of Milan to allow it to attend an emergency shareholder meeting on Wednesday at which the deal will be voted on. 

The company intends to vote against the proposed merger, claiming it could give Fininvest, an investment company controlled by former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi’s family and the largest shareholder, up to 86% of total voting rights with only 38% of ownership.

The move is the latest in a rift between Mediaset, which is controlled by Mr Berlusconi, and Vivendi, whose majority shareholder is the French billionaire Vincent Bolloré. In 2016, the pair fell out after a deal in which Mr Bolloré agreed to buy the Italian broadcaster’s pay-TV arm for €800 million (US$879.2 million) fell through.

Full Content: Financial Times

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