Mediaset and its second-largest investor Vivendi have reached an agreement to end years of legal conflict that will see the French media giant reduce its stake in the Italian commercial broadcaster over a five-year period. “Vivendi, Fininvest and Mediaset are pleased to announce that they have come to a global agreement to put an end to their disputes by waiving all litigation and claims between them,” announced the companies in a joint statement.
Under the terms of the deal, Vivendi has committed to selling shares amounting to 19.2 percent of Mediaset over five years at prices ranging from EUR 2.75 in the first year to EUR 3.10 in the fifth. It can sell the whole stake at any time if Mediaset’s price reaches EUR 3.20.
The Fininvest holding company of the Berlusconi family, which already holds 44 percent of the Italian broadcaster’s shares, has agreed to buy 5 percent of Mediaset stock at a price of EUR 2.70 per share. Vivendi said it will remain a shareholder of Mediaset when the process is over, with a residual 4.61 percent stake and will be free to retain or sell this stake at any time and any price.
Vivendi’s subsidiary Dailymotion has also agreed to a one-off payment of EUR 26.3 million to settle its copyright litigation with Mediaset’s subsidiaries RTI and Medusa. The French company added that it will now drop its opposition to Mediaset’s pan-European strategy, starting with a change of legal headquarters to the Netherlands.
The agreement puts to an end a legal conflict waged across European courts following a collapsed pay-TV deal back in 2016 and Vivendi’s subsequent acquisition of a 29 percent stake in Mediaset. A fresh attempt to end the ongoing legal battle was launched last month when a Milan court dismissed Mediaset’s EUR 3 billion damages claim and ordered Vivendi to pay just EUR 1.7 million in compensation.
