Continue with the knife between his teeth negotiations between Mediaset and the French Vivendi on the sale of premium, the pay-TV Alfa . The last episode of the soap opera, now began months ago, the board of directors of Vivendi, Mediaset accused of having rigged the accounts and the premium data to make it more attractive a company with disastrous accounts and a doubt the number of subscribers.
Immediate replication of Mediaset, which has already started legal action to ask “the compulsory execution of the contract” signed on 8 April 2016, and “compensation for damage suffered so far estimated time for an amount of € 50 million for each month of delay in the fulfillment by Vivendi as of July 25, 2016. “
Despite the lawsuits and the total breakdown of trust between the two companies that are proceeding in son of accusations and low blows, apparently the negotiations to find an agreement on Premium also continued by searching for another member to be involved in the deal.
Premium: Mediaset agreement -Vivendi
Let’s recap the previous installments. In eight years of the pay TV Mediaset Premium has never closed a positive balance. For this reason, the chief executive of Mediaset, Pier Silvio Berlusconi has begun to deal with Vivendi to share with the French and the heavy burden groped a raise.
After lengthy negotiations, the parties in October have reached an initial agreement, officially signed the April 8, 2016. the agreement provides for the purchase by Vivendi of 89% of premium (11% goes to the Spanish group Telefonica) and an exchange of shares : 3.5% of Vivendi shares in exchange for 3.5% of Mediaset. All it accompanied by a clause that obliges its companies to hold the participation of 3.5% in the other for at least three years and the opportunity for Vivendi in this three-year period of passing from 3.5% to a maximum of 5% of the capital Mediaset.
So far so good. The clash, however, has consumed about a month ago when Vivendi asked Mediaset to change the terms of the agreement. The board of directors of the French group led by Vincent Bolloré has proposed to acquire only 20% of Mediaset Premium, instead of the 89% and calls for the possibility of reaching the next three years to hold 20% of Mediaset, through a bond issue convertible, and not 15% as previously granted. Vivendi explained the change of pace with “significant differences” emerged during analysis of the results of Mediaset Premium.
The charge of fiddled accounts
what a month ago you could read between the lines, yesterday was screamed to the whole world during the Vivendi board. After presenting the accounts of the first half of 2016 (with revenues of 5.044 billion euro, down 1% compared to 2015), French Mediaset accused of having rigged the premium accounts to get them to close the deal.
in the press release issued by the group states that “the agreement signed on 8 April has been the subject of a due diligence carried out by Deloitte as stipulated in the contract. The result of this analysis and of Vivendi insights is that the figures provided before the signing are unrealistic and rest on an artificially increased the base. ” The Mediaset-Vivendi deal has thus stalled for the clash on Premium Data: one side is the shark of Bollorè finance, “the industrialist who knows how to count” as he likes to describe himself, and by ‘ other family Berlusconi whose founder and former premier has racked up numerous legal proceedings for false accounting, including that relating to Mediaset accounts for which he was sentenced to 4 years of imprisonment in the final.
Vivendi then roll back and Mediaset also accused of having “abruptly proceeded to launch media attacks that have damaged the interests and image of Vivendi” when there were ongoing contacts. Moreover, according to the French, the European Commission “in any case would not have given the green light to the agreement between Mediaset and Vivendi before 30 September, so that date the contract would be decayed.”
despite the rift, however, the chief executive, Arnaud de Puyfontain during the conference call on the interim financial confirmed that the intention of creating a European group while maintaining the centrality of the Italian role “remains the same.”
beyond the accusations and low blows, therefore, continue talks to find a compromise. Apparently the two groups they would be considering the possibility of involving an international fund or another actor who takes the 20% of pay-TV, leaving 30% upside to Mediaset and Vivendi and Telefonica asking to remain a member with the current 11%.
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