MediaForEurope notifies Austrian watchdog about Prosiebensat.1 holding

MediaForEurope (MFE), the pan-European group formerly known as Mediaset, has notified Austria’s Federal Competition Authority about the "acquisition of de facto sole control of ProSiebenSat.1 Media DE Deutschland,"  the competition watchdog confirmed, according to Reuters. The filing was as a necessary step under Austrian law and did not represent a new development in the group’s courting of the German company.

Sources cited in Reuters commented this was technical in nature and a necessary step under Austrian law because MediaForEurope, with its around 29.9% stake in ProSiebenSat.1, could control a majority of voting rights at shareholder meetings, where turnout has been ranging between 53-56%.

The announcement, dated December 13 on the Austrian regulator's website, was made because ProSiebenSat.1 also operates in German-speaking Austria. The statement did not indicate that MediaForEurope's stake had changed in size.