BERLIN (Reuters) – German broadcaster ProSiebenSat.1 hopes to hold talks in the coming weeks with its biggest shareholder, Italy’s MFE-Mediaforeurope, to try to resolve a dispute over management changes, sources close to the matter said on Tuesday.
MFE, controlled by the family of former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and formerly known as Mediaset, has repeatedly called for ProSieben to engage with its drive to consolidate Europe’s broadcasting industry.
But ProSieben Chief Executive Rainer Beaujean has expressed scepticism about the idea, saying he does not think cross-border mergers make sense.
In December, Prosieben said it was extending Beaujean’s contract until 2027, and the supervisory board intended to propose Andreas Wiele, a former Axel Springer executive board member, as its new chairman.
The decision pre-empted the company’s annual general meeting in May, a move which received a cool response by MFE, which said it reserved the right to put forward candidates for the supervisory board.
Wiele and outgoing chairman Werner Brand will seek talks with MFE and other investors in the next two or three weeks, sources told Reuters on Tuesday.
After that, MFE is likely to decide whether to support Wiele or propose other candidates for the supervisory board, thus escalating the recent spat, the sources said.
MFE and ProSieben declined to comment.
MFE currently holds 21% of the voting rights in ProSieben and, via other financial instruments, a total of 23.9%.
One industry source said MFE would probably gradually convert the indirect shares into direct ones by the time of the AGM on May 5. If the two sides have not settled their dispute by the AGM, MFE could potentially push through its candidates for the supervisory board if attendance at the AGM is low.
(Reporting by Klaus Lauer and Elvira Pollina, writing by Emma Thomasson, editing by Susan Fenton)
