Fininvest, the parent company of Italian broadcaster Mediaset, has filed a claim for damages of €570m ($643m) against French media company Vivendi for allegedly failing to comply with the terms of a takeover deal for pay-television division Mediaset Premium.
Earlier this week, Mediaset, one of the leading sports broadcasters in Italy, asked a Milan court to force Vivendi to fulfil its contract and pay damages of €50m per month, starting from July 25, in a separate claim.
According to Fininvest, the figure represents the decrease in the value of Mediaset’s shares since Vivendi apparently reneged on the agreement. Mediaset’s share price has dropped by about 15 per cent since Vivendi said that it no longer wanted to acquire control of Mediaset Premium under the original terms.
Under the original deal, Vivendi was set to acquire 100 per cent of Mediaset Premium, with both companies taking a 3.5-per-cent stake in each other. Vivendi made a revised offer to sell a 3.5-per-cent stake in its business in exchange for a 20-per-cent shareholding in Mediaset Premium and a 3.5-per-cent stake in Mediaset, but this was rejected by Mediaset at the end of July.
Mediaset has claimed that it risks losing €1.5bn if Vivendi does not honour the original agreement that was struck in April.