Major shareholder MFE demands split-up of ProSiebenSat.1
Media For Europe (MFE), a major shareholder of ProSiebenSat.1, is calling for the media group to be split up. The Milan-based media group announced on Thursday that its key entertainment television business should be separated from its «non-core activities»—e-commerce and dating—in order to refocus on its core business.
A spin-off would result in two listed companies. MFE intends to submit a corresponding proposal for the spin-off at the ProSiebenSat1 Annual General Meeting on April 30. In this context, the company around the Berlusconi family is also arguing for the inclusion of an expert for takeovers and mergers on the Supervisory Board.
ProSiebenSat.1 is divided into three segments: The Entertainment business, with Joyn at its core, was responsible for two thirds of Group revenues in 2023, primarily through advertising in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Around 80% of the operating result adjusted for special effects (EBITDA) comes from the core business.
A thorn in MFE's side, however, is the dating division (ParshipMeet Group) and the e-commerce business with companies such as Flaconi, Verivox and Jochen Schweizer Mydays - all of which MFE wants ProSiebenSat.1 to divest. "The ProSiebenSat.1 Executive Board has repeatedly expressed its intention to separate the segments, but has not yet made any significant progress in this respect," argued the major shareholder. According to the ProSiebenSat.1 website, MFE holds around 26 percent of the shares.
As recently as Wednesday, ProSiebenSat.1 Supervisory Board Chairman Andreas Wiele called for a rapid reorganization of the Group with a focus on television and streaming. "A conglomerate that is active in many areas has never worked, especially not in the media business," said Andreas Wiele in an interview with the South German Newspaper. (SDA)
