Silvio Berlusconi: Last News

French broadcaster M6 is no longer for sale.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent German media group Bertelsmann is expected to weigh in over the weekend on the offers it received for RTL Group’s 48.3% stake in M6 Group, France’s second largest commercial TV group. Bertelsmann put M6 Group back on the market a little over a week ago, after its planned merger with Bouygues-owned TF1 Group was abandoned due to a number of competition concerns raised by France’s anti-trust board. Bertelsmann’s chief executive Thomas Rabe asked to receive non-binding offers by Sept. 23 to test the market and received offers from three major bidders, according to Le Point.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Italy on Monday took a sharp turn towards the right as Giorgia Meloni and her Brothers of Italy party, which has neo-fascist roots, emerged as big winners in the country’s national elections. Final results on Monday showed Meloni and her party winning roughly 26% of the vote and the center-right coalition she leads scoring 44% of parliamentary preferences, while Matteo Salvini’s anti-immigrant League won nearly 9% and former prime minister and media mogul Silvio Berlusconi’s Forza Italia took 8%. Meloni’s closest challenger, with some 19.3% of the vote, is the center-left Democratic Party headed by Enrico Letta, who has announced his resignation. Italy’s anti-establishment 5-Star Movement — which had won the vote in Italy’s 2018 parliamentary elections — saw its support halved to some 15% this time around.

A consortium led by Banijay chairman Stéphane Courbit is leading the race to acquire French broadcaster M6, according to reports, with shares in the Bertelsmann-owned network spiking on news of several planned offers.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Giorgia Meloni is poised to become the next prime minister of Italy. With her victory will come the country’s most far-right government since Benito Mussolini and the National Fascist Party ruled during World War II. If exit polls are correct, Meloni will become the first female prime minister of Italy. Her Brothers of Italy party is projected to win between 22% to 26% of the vote, which would allow her to outflank Enrico Letta, the centre left politician who is her nearest rival. Brothers of Italy are expected to form a coalition government with Matteo Salvini’s League and Silvio Berlusconi’s Forza Italia. Final results are expected on Monday morning.

Far-right politician Giorgia Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party appears to be on the cusp of victory in Italy’s general election on Sunday, according to exits polls released shortly after the urns closed at 11 pm local time.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent German media group Bertelsmann has put its TV group M6, France’s second-biggest commercial broadcaster, back on the market following its abandoned merger with TF1. Bertelsmann’s chief executive Thomas Rabe told the Financial Times that he has asked to receive non-binding offers by Friday to “test the market” after being “inundated with expressions of interest.” Bertelsmann’s RTL Group owns a 48.3% stake in M6 Among those expected to bid are a consortium of high-profile French entrepreneurs including Rodolphe Saadé, the French shipping billionaire; Stéphane Courbit, chairman of TV powerhouse Banijay; and Marc Ladreit de Lacharrière, chairman of the investment vehicle Fimalac, Variety has confirmed.

Cynthia Littleton Business EditorRoberta Whiteman, a longtime editor for Variety who specialized in international coverage, died June 17 at a hospice facility near Vero Beach, Fla., where she lived. She was 62.Known as Bobbie, the British native was a skilled copy editor and news editor who was an unfailingly sunny presence in Variety‘s newsroom for nearly 13 years.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentTop Italian commercial broadcaster Mediaset, which is being rebranded as MediaForEurope (MFE), is launching a bid to gain full ownership of its Spanish unit Mediaset Espana in move touted as a first step in its stated plan to gain scale in Europe.The company, which is controlled by the family of former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, after a board meeting late on Tuesday revealed that it has given the go-ahead for a public offer in cash and shares to buy the 44.31% stake it does not already own in Mediaset Espana, which is Spain’s leading private free-TV player. MFE is valuing the Mediaset Espana stake at roughly €780 million euros ($854.6 million).“The offer represents an important step forward in the creation of a pan-European media and entertainment group,” MFE said in a statement.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentItalian commercial broadcaster Mediaset announced on Monday that it will be holding a board meeting to decide whether to raise its stake in Mediaset Espana, following press reports that the company intends to gain full control of its Spanish TV unit.In a statement issued by its MediaForEurope subsidiary, Mediaset, which is controlled by the family of former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, said it will hold a board meeting on Monday or Tuesday “with a view to adopting eventual resolutions on the case.”“A study is being made of the strategy regarding the stake held in Mediaset Espana,” the statement said.Mediaset, which currently owns a more than 50% stake in Mediaset Espana, is believed to be mulling the launch of a takeover bid of the remaining more than 40% stake it does not own in the company, which has a market value of €1.6 billion ($1.8 billion) according to Bloomberg.