French media multinational
Vivendi S.A. said Wednesday it considers itself at liberty to
cease pursuing a friendly solution with Italy's Mediaset media
group over a failed deal to purchase its Premium pay-TV
division.
"The firm reserves the right to take whatever course of
action it needs to defend its interests and those of its
shareholders," a Vivendi statement said.
Vivendi backtracked from a deal to take full control of
Mediaset Premium announced in April, citing "unrealistic" budget
assumptions and sparking lawsuits.
In July, the French firm said Mediaset's business plan
for its Premium pay-TV business was "based on unrealistic
assumptions".
The plan presented by ex-premier Silvio Berlusconi's
broadcasting company said its Premium division would break even
in 2018.
The French group said in a statement that due diligence by
Deloitte auditors at the beginning of June deemed the business
plan to be "unachievable".
In August, Berlusconi's family holding company Fininvest
sought 570 million euros in damages from Vivendi over
its alleged failure to respect the April deal.
On September 30, Vivendi CEO Arnaud de Puyfontaine said
talks with Mediaset are ongoing and he was confident an
agreement could be found.
"Perhaps we will find a solution - I am confident," the
chief executive said on his way out of a board meeting in Milan
of Telecom Italia, of which he is vice-president.
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