An Italian administrative court has annulled a watchdog ruling capping French media giant Vivendi’s stake in Mediaset, a court document showed, in a blow to the Italian broadcaster run by ex-prime minister Silvio Berlusconi’s family.
Vivendi and Mediaset have been at odds since 2016 when the French group ditched an accord to buy Mediaset’s pay-TV unit and built a 29% stake that the Italian group considers hostile.
Vivendi was forced to transfer two thirds of its voting rights in Mediaset into a trust after Italy’s communications regulator AGCOM ruled in 2017 that its stakes in Mediaset and in Telecom Italia (TIM) ran counter to laws protecting media plurality.
The French group is TIM’s biggest shareholder with a 23.9% stake and Mediaset’s second-largest with a 28.8% holding, although its voting rights in the broadcaster have been reduced to 10%.
Following a favourable ruling by the European Union’s top court in September, Vivendi has been seeking to regain voting rights for its full stake in Mediaset, asking the Italian administrative court TAR del Lazio to annul restrictions ordered by broadcasting authority AGCOM.
The Italian administrative court discussed the case at a hearing on Dec. 16 and ruled in favour of the French group, the court document showed on Wednesday.
Mediaset declined to comment on the administrative court decision. A legal source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Mediaset would likely appeal.
A Vivendi spokesman said the French group was satisfied with the ruling as it confirmed Vivendi had not violated Italian media laws and that curbs imposed on Vivendi were “unlawful”.
However, the French media giant’s interests in Italy still face potential restrictions.
Last month, Rome approved stopgap legislation which prompted AGCOM to hold an inquiry into whether Vivendi’s positions in Italy’s telecoms and media sectors were harmful for media plurality by looking at total revenues, entry barriers and the level of competition in those sectors.
The law increased tensions between the Italian government and Vivendi, which lodged a formal complaint with the European Union.
Source: Reuters.com