Finance
Germany's ProSiebenSat board chairman Wiele won't seek re-election
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on January 24, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 27, 2026
Global Banking & Finance Review®
Company
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on January 24, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 27, 2026
Andreas Wiele will step down as ProSiebenSat's board chair after May 28, amid shareholder changes. MFE is increasing its stake, aiming for a pan-European broadcaster.
BERLIN (Reuters) - ProSiebenSat.1 Supervisory Board Chairman Andreas Wiele will not seek re-election and will leave the company after May 28, the German broadcaster said on Friday.
Its top investor MFE-MediaForEurope, the TV group controlled by Italy's Berlusconi family, is building up a stake in ProSieben as part of plans to create a pan-European broadcaster, but so far has stopped short of launching a bid for the German channel.
"We thank Andreas Wiele for his work as a member and Chairman of the Supervisory Board since 2022 and wish him all the best," a spokesperson for MFE told Reuters.
Wiele consistently spoke against MFE's approach and it was unlikely he would secure re-election without the backing of the top shareholders MFE and Czech investor PPF, which together hold a stake of about 43%, when combined.
"The shareholder structure and the composition of the supervisory board have changed significantly since I took office," Wiele said in a statement, adding that "given these circumstances, I now feel the time has come to hand over my office".
Last month, MFE secured a 3.4 billion euro ($3.57 billion) loan to cover any financing it may need related to the matter, a source told Reuters.
MFE first invested in ProSieben in 2019 and since then built up a nearly 30% stake, just below a legal threshold that would trigger a takeover. The Bavaria-based group has resisted MFE's calls to join the project, striving to remain independent.
The search for a successor starts immediately, the ProSieben statement said.
($1 = 0.9533 euros)
(Reporting by Andrey Sychev and Klaus Lauer; Editing by Franklin Paul and Diane Craft)
The main topic is the resignation of Andreas Wiele as ProSiebenSat's Supervisory Board Chairman and the changes in shareholder dynamics.
Wiele is stepping down due to changes in the shareholder structure and lack of support from major shareholders MFE and PPF.
MFE aims to build a pan-European broadcaster and has increased its stake in ProSieben, though it hasn't launched a takeover bid.
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