Italian broadcast group MFE-MediaForEurope held talks in recent months with various banks ready to fund a potential bid for German media company ProSiebenSat.1.
The funds secured from the banks would amount to up to around €4 billion, reports Reuters with reference to people close to the matter and documents seen by the news agency.
Bank of America, Deutsche Bank and UniCredit would back a move by MFE, supporting both a tender offer for ProSiebenSat.1 shares and any debt refinancing needs triggered by the bid, the documents showed, according to Reuters.
While MFE, which is the largest shareholder in ProSiebenSat.1, has indicated it could consider a buyout offer only if the German company sells its non-core assets, the endorsement by banks of a potential takeover strengthens MFE’s hand in the shareholder battle the two media companies have engaged in ahead of ProSiebenSat.1’s AGM on 30 April 2024.
Representatives for MFE, ProSiebenSat.1 and the three banks declined to comment when approached by Reuters.
