PARIS (dpa-AFX) - French media giant Vivendi SA (VIV.L, VIVEF.PK), which is divesting telecom assets to focus on media, plans a comeback to Italian pay-TV market and is pursuing a stake in a unit of former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's Mediaset SpA, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
As per the report, Vivendi is interested in acquiring Spanish telecom operator Telefonica S.A.'s (TDE.L, TEF) 11 percent holding in Mediaset Premium. Mediaset controls the business, which had an equity value of 900 million euros or $1.2 billion as of July.
Vivendi's Canal Plus had bought Italian pay-TV provider Telepiu in 1997, when it was building a European-wide network. In 2001, Vivendi reached a deal to merge Telepiu with News Corp.'s pay-TV division Stream SpA. A year later, it agreed to sell Telepiu to News Corp. as Vivendi was under pressure to cut debt.
Vivendi is currently in exclusive talks to sell its Brazilian broadband unit Global Village Telecom, S.A. or GVT to Telefonica. As per reports, the company plans to exercise an option to acquire Telefonica's 8.3 percent holding in the Italian carrier as part of the GVT transaction. The stake could serve as a point of influence as Vivendi looks for allies to help distribute its content more widely, the report said.
Meanwhile, Telefonica is planning to exit its 14.8 percent stake in Italian phone carrier Telecom Italia SpA (TI, TIAOF) after it strikes the deal to acquire the GVT stake. Telefonica owns the stake in Telecom Italia through holding company Telco.
Mediaset shares closed 0.24 percent higher at 3.39 euros in Milan on Tuesday.
Vivendi shares declined 0.92 percent to 19.41 euros in Paris. Telefonica shares fell 1.01 percent in Madrid to 12.24 euros.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX