Home » Business » European justice ruled in favor of Vivendi in the dispute over its stake in Mediaset

European justice ruled in favor of Vivendi in the dispute over its stake in Mediaset

European justice ruled, Thursday, September 3, contrary to European law an Italian provision preventing Vivendi from acquiring 28.8% of the Italian Mediaset; a victory for the French group after years of litigation between the two companies.

According to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), the provision in question “Constitutes a prohibited obstacle to the freedom of establishment”. Contacted by Agence France-Presse (AFP), Mediaset declined to comment.

Mediaset and Vivendi have been clashing in court for more than three years, following a decision by Vivendi in 2016 to reverse an agreement providing for the repurchase of the Mediaset Premium package. The French group then embarked on a raid, judged « hostile » by the Berlusconi family, main shareholder of Mediaset, to acquire 28.8% of the Italian.

Read also Bolloré sets out to storm Berlusconi’s television empire

Media plurality

But Vivendi was forced, due to an Italian law on the plurality of media – that considered Thursday to be contrary to European Union law – to ” freeze “ some 20% of its 28.8% stake, entrusting it to a trust company.

The French group is in fact also a shareholder of the operator Telecom Italia with 24% of its capital, and this double participation at such levels was considered contrary to the legislation.

Article reserved for our subscribers Read also Mediaset wins battle against Vivendi

The CJEU observes in its judgment that“A restriction on the freedom of establishment can, in principle, be justified by an objective of general interest, such as the protection of pluralism of information and the media”. More “This is not the case with the provision in question, it not being such as to achieve that objective”, she believes.

The World with AFP

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.