Finance
MFE does not expect to get majority stake in ProSiebenSat.1 with low-ball bid
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on May 8, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 24, 2026
Global Banking & Finance Review®
Company
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on May 8, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 24, 2026
MFE, led by the Berlusconi family, offers a low-ball bid for ProSiebenSat.1, not expecting a majority stake but aiming for cooperation.
MUNICH (Reuters) -MFE-MediaForEurope, controlled by Italy's Berlusconi family, said on Thursday it did not expect to get a majority stake in ProSiebenSat.1, as it announced the start of the acceptance period for its low-ball offer.
MFE is the biggest shareholder in the German media company with a 30.14% stake, and its objective is not to acquire all or a qualified majority of the company, MFE said in the offer document.
The aim is to evaluate, together with ProSieben, a potential cooperation between the German company and MFE's Italian and Spanish channels, it added.
The offer for the ProSieben shares that MFE does not already own is 4.48 euros ($5.06) in cash and 0.4 MFE shares for each ProSieben, a discount to the German group's current share price.
The acceptance period ends on June 6, although shareholders will still have a chance to accept the offer from June 13 to June 26.
Since the takeover offer in March, MFE has bought additional shares in ProSieben, increasing its stake from 29.99% to 30.14%.
Analysts at the time said take-up for the bid, pitched at the minimum level allowed by German takeover rules, was likely to be limited but that the move would allow MFE to gradually take control of ProSieben.
($1 = 0.8855 euros)
(Reporting by Alexander Huebner. Writing by Isabel Demetz. Editing by Mark Potter)
MFE currently holds a 30.14% stake in ProSiebenSat.1.
MFE's offer for the ProSieben shares is 4.48 euros ($5.06) in cash.
The acceptance period for the offer ends on June 6, with an additional chance to accept from June 13 to June 26.
MFE aims to evaluate potential cooperation between ProSieben and its Italian and Spanish channels.
Since the takeover offer in March, MFE has increased its stake from 29.99% to 30.14%.
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