French media giant Vivendi has reached an agreement to acquire the Mediaset Premium pay-TV business of Italian commercial broadcaster Mediaset as part of a wider deal that will see the two companies taking a 3.5 percent stake in each other. The share-based transaction values Mediaset Premium at EUR 800 million, with Vivendi acquiring Mediaset's 89 percent stake in the unit as well as the remaining 11 percent stake held by Spain's Telefonica.
Previous reports have suggested that the aim of the Vivendi-Mediaset deal is to create an integrated pan-European pay-TV platform and content production unit to counter the growing popularity of Netflix and Sky. "The agreement with Mediaset confirms Vivendi’s intention to build strong positions in Southern Europe, a market that shares a similar Latin culture and roots,” said Vivendi in a statement, adding that its acquisition of Mediaset Premium serves to expand its presence in European pay-TV, increasing its global individual subscriber base to over 13 million.Mediaset Premium recently reported full-year revenues of EUR 559 million, up nearly 4 percent from EUR 538.4 million in 2014, with subscribers growing to around 2.01 million thanks above all to its exclusive rights to broadcast Champions League football. Mediaset CEO Pier Silvio Berlusconi said the agreement converts the Italian broadcaster into Vivendi’s second-biggest private investor. "One of the main points of this deal is the creation of a new company which has the ambition of creating international content for distribution on all platforms," said Berlusconi.
