A Vivendi source told ANSA on Thursday that the French group's acquisition of shares in Mediaset was not a hostile operation. "It certainly was not requested, but it is not a hostile act," the source said in Paris after Vivendi announced Wednesday that its stake in the Italian broadcaster had gone up to 20%.
"We want to reinforce our position in the south of Europe, which is strategic for us. That's why we decided to buy Mediaset shares". Mediaset's founder, ex-premier Silvio Berlusconi, said Wednesday his family will defend itself from a "hostile" operation by Vincent Bolloré's group and was raising its stake in the company. Industry Minister Carlo Calenda said the government will "carefully monitor" the Mediaset-Vivendi situation, adding that what appears to be a hostile takeover is "not the most appropriate way to reinforce one's presence in Italy". MPs from the populist 5-Star Movement (M5S) from the House transport and telecoms committee, meanwhile, said Thursday that the government's intervention on behalf of Mediaset was "totally inappropriate".
"The government did nothing to combat Vivendi's aggressive takeover bid against Telecom Italia, which really was strategic for our country considering the network infrastructure it owns," the opposition MPs said.
Vivendi owns 23.9% of Telecom Italia.
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