MediaForEurope

MFE - MediaForEurope N.V.

Formerly	Mediaset S.r.l. (1993-1994) Mediaset S.p.A. (1994-2021) Mediaset N.V. (2021)
Company type	Public(N.V.)
Traded as	BIT:MFEB BIT:MFEA BMAD:MFEA
ISIN	IT0001063210
Industry	Mass media
Predecessors	Rete Televisiva Italiana Elettronica Industriale Reteitalia Videotime Silvio Berlusconi Communications Gestevisión Telecinco Kirch Group(for ProSieben Sat.1 Media assets)
Founded	December 15, 1993(1993-12-15)(as Gruppo Mediaset) November 25, 2021(2021-11-25)(as MFE - MediaForEurope)
Founder	Silvio Berlusconi
Headquarters	Cologno Monzese , Italy
Key people	Fedele Confalonieri(Chairperson) Pier Silvio Berlusconi(CEO) Marco Giordani (CFO)
Revenue	4.23 billion € (2020)
Net income	374 million € (2021)
Owner	Fininvest(49.3%) Simon Fiduciaria (19.2%) Vivendi(4.6%) Treasury stock(3.1%) Public float(23.7%)
Number of employees	4990 (2021)
Subsidiaries	Mediaset S.p.A. Mediaset España ProSiebenSat.1 Media(26.58%)
Website	www.mfemediaforeurope.com

MediaForEurope,officiallyMFE - MediaForEurope N.V.,formerlyMediaset Group(Italian:Gruppo Mediaset), is aDutch-domiciledItalian-basedmediaandcommunicationscompanywhich is majority-owned by the Berlusconi family'sFininvest Group.MFE specialises primarily infree-to-airandpay-TVproduction and distribution on multiple platforms, as well as infilmandmultimediaproduction and distribution, andadvertising sales.It has operations inItaly(throughMediaset S.p.A.) andSpain(throughMediaset España). It also is the largest single shareholder inProSiebenSat.1 Mediaat 26.58%.

Its registered office is inAmsterdam,the Netherlands,while its management, operational, administrative and tax headquarters are located inCologno Monzese,in the metropolitan city ofMilan.Since 1994 the president of MFE isFedele Confalonieri.

The group has been listed on theMilan Stock Exchangesince 1996 and the majority shareholder isFininvest,a holding company founded in the 1970s bySilvio Berlusconi.It is the second largest private television group inEuropeafter the Luxembourg-basedRTL Groupand the first inItaly.In terms ofturnoverit is among the most important in the global media market.In 2010 it was ranked the best Italian media group and fifth largest in Europe in theThomson Reuters Extelranking. In 2013 it was ranked the 34th largest media group in the world.

History

Background

Main article:Mediaset § History

Beginnings in Italy

Silvio Berlusconi's involvement in television industry began in 1978, with Telemilano, a localMilan-based broadcaster that becameCanale 5two years later and began broadcasting nationally. Berlusconi went on to acquireItalia 1(from the publishing group Rusconi) in 1982, andRete 4(fromArnoldo Mondadori Editore) in 1984. These three networks eventually formedReti Televisive Italiane(RTI).

Early international expansions

Berlusconi'sFininvestmaintained its stake in the French television channelLa Cinqthroughout its existence: from its formation in 1985 to official launch on 20 February 1986 until its closure on 12 April 1992.

In the 1980s, Fininvest was contracted to operateTV Koper-Capodistria,a TV station which was intended to serve Italian-speaking audiences in the region ofIstria,Slovenia,Yugoslavia,but was widely available in Italy through cable systems. Under Fininvest's control, the station mainly operated as a sports channel. This arrangement ended in 1990.

In 1987, Berlusconi began purchasing a stake in German television music channelMusicbox,increasing it up to 45%. It became the first incarnation of the generalist channelTele 5on 11 January 1988. Tele 5 was later sold toLeo Kirch,and became Deutsches Sportfernsehen (DSF, nowSport1) on 1 January 1993.

Fininvest joined in theGestevisión Telecincoconsortium, which was formed on 10 March 1989 to participate in the auction of commercial televisionbroadcast license.The 10-year license was issued on 25 August 1989, and what would becomeTelecincowas launched on 3 March 1990.

In 1990,Silvio Berlusconi Communicationsentered into a partnership withDIC Enterprisesand having SBC subsidiariesReteitalia S.p.A.and Telecinco to co-produce shows,a relationship that lasted until 1994.

As Mediaset Group (1996-November 2021)

Formation

Branding the company under his own image and having prior experience with the cable broadcasting industry during his time in Milan, Berlusconi expanded into many media ventures such as television, film and radio industries; and in 1996, RTI, Videotime, Publitalia and Elettronica Industriale were brought together in a single group, Mediaset, which was then listed on theMilan stock exchange,opening up the company to both important institutional investors and private investors (around 300,000).

In 1997, Mediaset acquired 25% stake in the Spanish broadcasterGestevisión Telecinco.In 2003, Mediaset increased its stake in Telecinco and became the major shareholder with 50.1% of the shares. On 24 June 2004, Gestevisión Telecinco was listed on theMadrid stock exchange.

In 2007, Mediaset formed a consortium with Cyrte Fund andGoldman Sachs,and acquired a controlling interest inEndemolfromTelefónica.The Dutch production company buys Italian film production and distribution companyMedusa Film.In 2008, they reached an agreement regarding the acquisition ofTaodue.

Mediaset entered the Chinese market by obtaining the licence to sell advertisements for China Global Media which in October launched thesportschannelChina Sports Programs Network(CSPN), a consortium of seven regional broadcasters with an audience reach of 400 million viewers. Publieurope, a subsidiary of Mediaset's advertising agencyPublitalia '80,would handle the sales of advertisements on the network.

Major expansion in Spain

Main article:Mediaset España § 2009–present: Telecinco-Cuatro merger

On 18 December 2009 Mediaset S.p.A., its subsidiaryGestevisión Telecinco,andPrisa(parent company ofSogecable) approved and signed an agreement to merge their television operations (Telecinco andCuatro), pending regulatory approval. As part of the agreement, Gestevisión Telecinco would take a 22% shareholding in theDigital+platform.The Comisión Nacional de la Competencia (the Spanish antitrust commission), with a resolution dated 28 October 2010, approved the merger. Following this, Gestevision Telecinco was renamedMediaset España Comunicaciónon 11 March 2011.

In 2019, Mediaset Italia S.p.A. was formed to handle the group's businesses within Italy. The particular company became the current iteration of Mediaset S.p.A. in 2022.

Acquisition of stake in ProSiebenSat.1 Media

Main article:ProSiebenSat.1 Media § The entrance of Mediaset

In May 2019, Mediaset invests 330 million euros to take over 9.6% ofProSiebenSat.1 Media(P7S1) without having a role in the management. In November 2019, Mediaset rises to 15.1% of the German broadcaster. The transaction took place through the subsidiaryMediaset España,which acquired a 5.5% stake in the capital, which is added to the shares already in the group's portfolio. On 23 March 2020, Mediaset España purchased a further 4.28% of the share capital equal to 4.35% of the voting rights, bringing Mediaset's stake to 20.1% and showing the ambition to want to participate in the governance of the issuer thanks also to the 10% held by the Czech magnateDaniel Křetínský,considered by analysts to be close toPier Silvio Berlusconiin this match,in order to form a European pole of generalist TV. A few days later, on 28 March, the CEO of P7S1,Max Conze,resigned from board of directors. Rainer Beaujean took his place.

In January 2021, Mediaset signs a collaborative contract with the Romanian IT and telecommunications company DeltaLab S.A. for the construction of fiber optic network infrastructures around the world €196,000,000,000 project that will bring the high-speed line even in areas where there is no connection. the construction will take about 3 years with the help of construction companies in the various territories. When the works are finished it will be the largest infrastructure in the world, the infrastructures will be owned 30% by Mediaset and 70% by DeltaLab which will provide the connection as a direct supplier.

As MFE (November 2021-present)

In 2019, Mediaset announced a major restructuring, under which it would form a new parent company,MFE - MediaForEurope N.V.,which would be domiciled in the Netherlands.On 26 November 2021, the company's board approved the rename.

In 2022, after a bid for the 44% pool of shares it did not already hold, MFE completed the takeover ofMediaset España,ending up with roughly a 83% of shares of the company, with the following stated goal being the full merger of Spanish operations with the Milan-based company. In late January 2023, MFE announced that it would go ahead with Mediaset España merger plan, and offered to pay €3.2687 per share in the Madrid-based broadcaster.It also announced that it will give seven MFE class A shares per one Mediaset España share to investors who backed the merger.On 14 March 2023, MFE offered to buy a 1.05% stake in Mediaset España held byVivendifor €10.7 million.The following day, 15 March 2023, the shareholders of Mediaset España approved MFE's absorption plan in anextraordinary general meeting,but José Antonio del Barrio Colmanarejo accused the managers of "failing to defend the interests of shareholders in the face of what he saw as an undervaluation of the company".

On 28 April 2023, it was reported that MFE's absorption of Mediaset España was expected to be completed on 3 May.2 May 2023 was Mediaset España's last day of trading; the Spanish subsidiary's final stock price was €2.89 per share, before the company was delisted from Spanish stock exchanges on the following day, 3 May.Mediaset España's shareholders were offered seven newly issued class A shares of MFE per one Mediaset España share. In total, 220,934,896 new class A shares were issued, with a nominal value of €0.06 each.

Key assets

MFE - MediaForEurope ownership and subsidiaries chart

Finanziaria d'investimento Fininvest S.p.A. (47.91%) Simon Fiduciaria S.p.A. (18.68%) Vivendi SE (4.49%) Treasury stock (3.56%) Public float (25.35%) MFE - MediaForEurope N.V. Nessma Broadcast SA (32.27%) Nessma SA (34.12%) EI Towers S.p.A. (40%) Mediaset S.p.A. (100%) Grupo Audiovisual Mediaset España Comunicación, S.A.U. (100%) ProSiebenSat.1 Media SE (29%) Reti Televisive Italiane S.p.A. (100%) Publitalia '80 S.p.A. (100%) Chart indicator(s) Solid lines indicate companies consolidated on a line-by-line basis Dashed lines indicate companies consolidated by equity method Dotted lines indicate other investments

Mediaset S.p.A.(Italy)

Main article:Mediaset § Holdings

• Canale 5
• Rete 4
• Italia 1

Grupo Audiovisual Mediaset España Comunicación, S.A.U.(Spain)

Main article:Mediaset España § Group responsibilities

• Telecinco
• Cuatro

Other assets

• ProSiebenSat.1 Media SE(Germany, 29%)
• Nessma SA(Tunisia; 34.12%)
• Nessma Broadcast SA (Tunisia; 32.27%)

External links

• Official website