Berlusconi drops out of the race for ProSiebenSat.1
Controversial Italian media mogul Silvio Berlusconi remains barred from entering the German TV market. Mediaset, the former prime minister's media conglomerate, failed to make it into the bidding race for Germany's largest television group.
The controversial Italian media mogul Silvio Berlusconi is still denied access to the German TV business. Mediaset, the former prime minister's group, did not make it into the bidding race for the largest German television group ProSiebenSat.1. According to its own statements on Thursday, Mediaset was not included in the list of bidders. According to a report in the Italian business newspaper 'Il Sole 24 Ore', the group's bid was too low. Some investors had submitted bids that were around 30 percent higher than the current share price of the German broadcasting group. Mediaset, on the other hand, announced that it had submitted a bid that was "balanced from an economic point of view". bid from an economic point of view. Mediaset had only expressed interest in ProSiebenSat.1 on Tuesday (see
). This caused a spontaneous stir in politics and business. According to industry circles, several bids have been submitted for the broadcasting family, which is majority-owned by a group of investors led by US billionaire Haim Saban. Among the interested parties are the financial investors KKR and Permira, who already own the European TV group SBS. According to Handelsblatt, the two are also part of a consortium, as are Apax and Goldman Sachs. There are also other interested parties. As expected, ProSiebenSat.1 posted a slump in profits in the third quarter due to one-off expenses. Partly due to the announced early repayment of a EUR 200 million bond, net income fell from EUR 23.7 million to EUR 13.1 million. However, ProSiebenSat.1 Group CEO Guillaume de Posch expects revenues to increase by five to six percent from just under EUR 2 billion last year. The broadcasting family intends to increase earnings disproportionately in 2006. In 2005, the Group posted a pre-tax profit of EUR 350.7 million.
). This caused a spontaneous stir in politics and business. According to industry circles, several bids have been submitted for the broadcasting family, which is majority-owned by a group of investors led by US billionaire Haim Saban. Among the interested parties are the financial investors KKR and Permira, who already own the European TV group SBS. According to Handelsblatt, the two are also part of a consortium, as are Apax and Goldman Sachs. There are also other interested parties. As expected, ProSiebenSat.1 posted a slump in profits in the third quarter due to one-off expenses. Partly due to the announced early repayment of a EUR 200 million bond, net income fell from EUR 23.7 million to EUR 13.1 million. However, ProSiebenSat.1 Group CEO Guillaume de Posch expects revenues to increase by five to six percent from just under EUR 2 billion last year. The broadcasting family intends to increase earnings disproportionately in 2006. In 2005, the Group posted a pre-tax profit of EUR 350.7 million.
