Italian broadcaster Mediaset has secured full control of its pay-television unit, Mediaset Premium, after acquiring the stake held by Spanish telecommunications company Telefonica.
In a statement, Mediaset said it had acquired the 11.1 per cent stake of Mediaset Premium held by Telefonica meaning it will own 100 per cent of the share capital.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the Reuters news agency said that in exchange for its stake Telefonica would receive part of the damages Mediaset hopes to gain from French media group Vivendi as part of an ongoing legal dispute involving Mediaset Premium.
Mediaset and Vivendi have been engaged in a battle since July 2016, when the French firm elected to exit an agreement to take control of Premium. Mediaset is seeking €1.5bn ($1.68bn) in damages in the case.
Telefonica had acquired its stake in Premium for €100m in 2015 in a deal that valued the unit at €900m. Reuters said Mediaset had reached an agreement with the Spanish group to buy the stake for about €70m and then sell it on to Vivendi before the French firm made its decision in July.
Mediaset’s move comes after the broadcaster last week lost its rights to the Uefa Champions League and Europa League club football competitions. Pay-television broadcaster Sky Italia has become the new rights-holder, securing exclusive live rights to all matches from the 2018-19 season through to 2020-21.
Earlier this month, Lega Serie A, which operates the top football division in Italy, said it would launch a new rights auction in the coming months after Mediaset refused to participate in the latest tender and the only bidders tabled offers that did not meet the league’s expectations.
Mediaset refused to participate in protest after filing a complaint to Italy’s antitrust authority, the AGCM, over the structure of the sales process, which the broadcaster claimed favoured Sky.
Bids for the rights covering three seasons, from 2018-19 to 2020-21, were due in by Saturday, June 10.