Germany’s anti-trust office said on Wednesday that it had approved a request by Italian broadcaster Mediaset to acquire a competitively significant stake in broadcaster ProSiebenSat.1 Media.
“We have no competition concerns,” said a spokesman for the Federal Cartel Office.
The ruling clears the way for Mediaset to raise its stake in ProSieben to up to 25%, from just over 20% now, and allows it to vote its stake at the German company’s annual general meeting in June.
Controlled by the family of former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, Mediaset is seeking allies for a proposed pan-European TV champion it wants to build to resist the advance of U.S. streaming platforms.
Source: Reuters.com