Spanish telecommunications company Telefónica has agreed to acquire an 11.1 per cent stake in the Mediaset Premium pay-television service of Italian commercial broadcaster Mediaset, while it has completed a deal to buy Mediaset Espana’s 22 per cent holding in Spanish pay-television operator Canal Plus.
Mediaset said today (Monday) that Telefónica will pay €100m ($137m) for the 11.1 per cent stake in Mediaset Premium. Mediaset added that it would transfer its pay-television activities to a new company with an equity value of €900m.
Mediaset deputy chairman Piersilvio Berlusconi told Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera that the company was also in talks with other potential investors in its pay-television business, including Qatari pay-television broadcaster Al Jazeera and French media group Vivendi.
In other news, Telefónica has secured a 100-per-cent shareholding in Spanish pay-television operator Canal Plus through its acquisition of Mediaset Espana’s 22 per cent stake for a purchase price of €295m.
Telefónica had already agreed a deal to acquire a 56-per-cent stake in Canal Plus from media company Prisa for €750m, raising its interest to 78 per cent.
Canal Plus changed its name from Digital Plus in 2011 and is a major sports broadcaster in Spain.