Telefonica to pay 355 mn for Mediaset Spain's 22% DTS stake

Deal would make Telefonica sole owner of Spanish Canal+ pay TV

(ANSA) - Milan, July 3 - The Spanish division of former Italian premier Silvio Berlusconi's Mediaset empire has decided to sell its 22% share of DTS, which owns Spain's Canal+ pay-TV, to telecoms giant Telefonica for more than 355 million euros, sources said Thursday.

Telefonica will acquire total control of Spain's top pay-TV operator should the deal go through. “There is no complete and definitive agreement yet," Mediaset Espana said in a communiqué after a meeting of the board.

Telefonica in June offered Mediaset Spain 295 million euros for its 22% stake in DTS. Mediaset Espana will receive 10 million euros more if Telefonica successfully completes its acquisition of the 56% held by another company, Prisa. It could receive 20 million on top of that depending on how Canal+ performs in the four years after the acquisition of the 56% stake.

Mediaset would also be entitled to 30 million euros for waiving its right of first refusal on participation in Prisa. The Italian company's share price on the Milan stock exchange rose 4% to close at 3.65 euros a share in Thursday's trading.