ROME (dpa-AFX) - The Italian Communication Authority or AGCom ruled that stake-building by Vincent Bollore's Vivendi SA (VIV.L, VIVEF.PK) in Mediaset (MDIEF.PK, MDIUY.PK) and Telecom Italia (TIAOF.PK, TI) breaches Italian antitrust regulations banning companies from having an excessive share in both the domestic telecommunications and media markets.
According to the ruling, Vivendi must rid itself of its stake in one of the companies within a year. AGCom ordered Vivendi to present a detailed plan within 60 days as to how it would comply with the order.
Meanwhile, Vivendi said that it was surprised by the decision taken by the Italian Communication Authority.
Vivendi said it has always operated within Italian law, and specifically the Gasparri Law regarding the protection of media pluralism from the creation of dominant positions. In particular, it is undisputable that Vivendi neither controls nor exercises a dominant influence on Mediaset which is controlled on an exclusive basis by Fininvest with a stake close to 40%.
Vivendi noted that it reserves the right to take any appropriate legal action to protect its interests, including filing an appeal to the AGCom decision at the Regional Administrative Court (TAR) and to submit a formal complaint to the European Commission for the breach of EU law.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX