French media group Vivendi has sealed a deal to acquire the Mediaset Premium pay-television operation of media company Mediaset, one of the leading sports broadcasters in Italy.
The share-based deal values Mediaset Premium at €800m ($912m). Vivendi will acquire Mediaset's 89-per-cent stake in Mediaset Premium and the remaining 11-per-cent stake held by Spanish telecommunications company Telefonica.
Vivendi and Mediaset will also acquire a 3.5-per-cent stake in each other’s entity. Vivendi will not be able to increase its stake in Mediaset beyond five per cent for three years.
The deal has already been approved by Vivendi’s board, according to the Reuters news agency. The agreement could lead to Vivendi raising its stake in Mediaset in the future to secure control over the company's free-to-air services, the report added.
Mediaset chief executive Pier Silvio Berlusconi said: “One of the main points of this deal is the creation of a new company which has the ambition of creating international content for distribution on all platforms.”
Vivendi chief executive Arnaud de Puyfontaine added: “We believe that a tighter relation between telecommunications and our world – where competition comes from Google, Facebook and Netflix – is the right way to success.”