RPT Mediaset's Adreani says co will not bid for Fastweb, may bid for Endemol |
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Wed, 14 Mar 2007 14:26
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(Repeating to correct spelling of John de Mol's name)MILAN (AFX) - Mediaset SpA CEO Giuliano Adreani said that the television company will not bid for Fastweb SpA, but that it may bid for Endemol NV.Mediaset's announcement regarding Endemol rejects media speculation that the company was seeking to counter Swisscom AG's 47 eur per share offer for the broadband supplier.Speaking ahead of an analyst meeting, Adreani said that 'telephony is not our core business.''No counter-bid is planned for Fastweb,' he added.On the possible bid for Endemol, Adreani said Mediaset plans to join forces with the Dutch businessman John de Mol to try and obtain a 75 pct stake in the television production company that Telefonica SA has put up for sale.A spokesman for de Mol's investment vehicle Cyrte Investments said he would not comment on the matter.During the meeting, deputy chairman Pier Silvio Berlusconi said that the company is carefully studying possible partnerships to bid for Endemol and that it will be careful not to pay too high a price.CFO Marco Giordani said that all broadcasters are expected to be interested in Endemol and to possibly make non-binding offers.He added that Mediaset has not yet formed a consortium to make a bid.'No choice has been made yet,' he said, adding that there is no official timing yet for the operation.Separately, Telecinco said that it will be in partnership with Mediaset and de Mol to bid for Endemol.The timing and terms of the bid are 'still being worked out,' a Telecinco spokeswoman confirmed.Giordani added that increasing the company's debt to finance acquisitions is 'the least of (our) problems', highlighting that a bank had offered Mediaset a 10 bln eur credit line to take over the German television broadcaster ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG.Chairman Fedele Confalonieri reiterated that Mediaset did not go ahead with the acquisition of the German group because the operation was not in line with its cautious financial criteria.He said that Mediaset wants to 'defend its profitability and not make false moves' when studying acquisitions.When asked about possible acquisitions in the telecommunications sector, Confalonieri added that the group 'doesn't rule anything out' and that the decision to make an acquisition depends on the likely return on investment.He however said that Mediaset would face antitrust problems if it sought to buy Telecom Italia SpA.He acknowledged that it would make sense for Mediaset to buy the film production company Medusa owned by its parent Fininvest.However, the same financial criteria would be applied for any takeover, and Mediaset will be transparent if an operation is carried out because of the relationship with Fininvest, he added.philip.webster@thomson.compw/tw/kel//cmr/pw/twCOPYRIGHTCopyright AFX News Limited 2007. All rights reserved.The copying, republication or redistribution of AFX News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of AFX News.AFX News and AFX Financial News Logo are registered trademarks of AFX News Limited
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Mediaset's Adreani says co will not bid for Fastweb, may bid for Endemol 