By Alexander Hübner and Elvira Pollina
BERLIN/MILAN (Reuters) -German broadcaster ProSiebenSat.1 said top investor MediaForEurope (MFE) has rejected an offer of a seat on its supervisory board, suggesting no compromise has been reached ahead of a shareholder vote in May.
Previously known as Mediaset, MFE has repeatedly called for closer cooperation with the Munich-based group, in which it has a voting stake of more than 25%, as well as asking it to engage in talks over strategy, focusing on its core TV business.
Controlled by the family of former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, MFE sees building a continental TV champion as the answer to challenges posed to traditional broadcasters by streaming giants and online advertising platforms.
For its part, the German TV group has been pursuing a standalone strategy, while investing in tech business, such as e-commerce operations and online dating platform ParshipMeet.
In December, ProSieben said it was extending CEO Rainer Beaujean’s contract until 2027, and the supervisory board intended to propose Andreas Wiele, a former Axel Springer executive board member, as its new chairman.
MFE was not given advance notice of such plan and it was not involved either in the decision to propose former RTL boss Bert Habets and Rolf Nonnenmacher for the two seats that are to be reallocated at the annual general meeting on May 5.
MFE does not have any representatives on the supervisory board but has reserved the right to present rival candidates by April 20.
In a statement on Monday, Prosiebensat.1 said the supervisory board unanimously approved the election proposals, which were the result of a comprehensive selection process initiated in mid-2021.
It added it also offered shareholder MFE-MediaForEurope the chance to propose its own candidate in return for supporting the supervisory board candidates.
“MFE-MediaForEurope rejected this proposal, which the supervisory board very much regrets”.
MFE declined to comment.
A source familiar with the matter said MFE board of directors could be updated on the developments at a meeting scheduled for Tuesday.
(Reporting by Alexander Huebner and Elvira Pollina, Writing by Miranda Murray, editing by Thomas Escritt and Keith Weir)