Germany’s ProSieben backs higher takeover bid by MFE

ProSieben’s board said it welcomed MFE’s increase of its original offer as “adequate” and a sign of its long-term investment and continued commitment.

MFE raised its bid for the German media company by boosting the stock component to 1.3 MFE shares from 0.4 MFE shares previously, while keeping the €4.48 per-share cash portion unchanged. The offer values ProSieben at around €2bn.

ProSieben’s executive board noted that the offer assumes €150m in recurring annual cost synergies over a four- to five-year period, which would mean the full legal integration of ProSieben into MFE.

Shareholders have until 13 Aug to accept the amended offer, after which a two-week additional acceptance period will follow under German takeover law.

The future of ProSieben has been the subject of speculation for several months, with leading shareholders MFE and PPF IM posting separate bids to increase their stakes. ProSieben had rejected MFE’s first bid but this was followed by the improved bid last month.

ProSieben operates free-to-air and pay-TV channels in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, including ProSieben, Sat.1 and Kabel 1. It also runs the Joyn streaming platform.

MFE is Italy’s biggest commercial broadcaster and has been ProSieben’s largest shareholder since 2019.

MFE’s Chief Executive Officer Pier Silvio Berlusconi wants to create a pan-European media group that can compete with streaming platforms such as Netflix and Amazon.