Media: Pro7 takeover concerns federal government

The bidding war for ProSiebenSat.1 is now also occupying the German government : "I have invited Pier Silvio Berlusconi to a meeting at the Federal Chancellery to discuss his plans," Minister of State for Culture Wolfram Weimer told the Reuters news agency on Saturday. He is in discussions with ProSiebenSat.1 executives about a possible takeover by the Italian holding company MediaForEurope (MFE), in which Berlusconi holds a significant stake. According to insiders in Germany and Italy , both sides have agreed to meet after the summer break. MFE declined to comment.

"Germany needs strong, private, independent television groups; they are crucial for media diversity and diversity of opinion," Weimer said, explaining his invitation. "A change of ownership at a media group like ProSiebenSat.1 would be far more than a normal process. The potential takeover would influence our country's media power structure," he emphasized to Reuters. Weimer formulated clear conditions: "A change of ownership must not lead to a restriction of journalistic independence. Media power is never neutral – whoever buys it bears political responsibility," he added. According to government sources, the background to this is concern about ProSiebenSat.1's future. Weimer therefore expects all investors involved to guarantee their location at ProSiebenSat.1 and renounce political influence. It is expected that, in the event of a takeover, the European media platform would have its headquarters in Germany, ideally in Munich . ProSiebenSat.1's headquarters are located in the Munich suburb of Unterföhring . The group and its Cologne-based rival RTL dominate the German private television market.

The Italian holding company MFE already holds approximately 30 percent of ProSiebenSat.1. It is currently engaged in a bidding war with the Czech PPF Group. Their purchase offers are running in parallel until August 13.

MFE's strategic goal is to integrate ProSiebenSat.1 into a pan-European television group that can compete with US streaming giants like Netflix and Amazon . The Czech company, which operates in the television business in Eastern Europe and Scandinavia , says it wants to keep ProSiebenSat.1 independent.

The German government's now-initiated action may also have a political motive. Pier Silvio Berlusconi is the son of former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who was said to have close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin . The German government has repeatedly accused the government in Moscow of deliberately spreading disinformation in Europe .