MFE lines up $3.6 billion loan for any ProSieben move

MILAN (Reuters) -MFE-MediaForEurope, the TV group controlled by Italy’s Berlusconi family, has asked a group of banks for a 3.4 billion euro ($3.6 billion) loan to cover any financing it may need related to Germany’s ProSiebensat.1, a source told Reuters.

MFE, which owns TV operations in Italy and Spain, has built a nearly 30% stake in ProSieben as part of its plans to create a pan-European TV champion and withstand competition from U.S. streaming giants such as Netflix.

The source, who has direct knowledge of the matter but spoke on condition of anonymity as talks are private, confirmed a report in Italian newspaper Il Messaggero that MFE has asked for a commitment for a five-year loan by as early as Dec. 5.

MFE, which is ProSieben’s single-largest investor, wants to have the financing ready to support any potential needs linked to ProSieben in 2025, which includes a possible buyout offer, the source said.

The source said that while MFE wanted to be ready to move, any decision was not imminent. MFE and ProSieben declined to comment.

Shares in ProSieben, whose second largest investor is Czech investment firm PPF, were 4.8% up at 0900 GMT.

Reuters reported in April that MFE had held talks with various banks ready to fund a potential bid for ProSieben worth up to around 4 billion euros.

Il Messaggero said UniCredit had a lead role in the loan, but the source said the banks are all equally involved.

The lenders working on the loan are Banco BPM, BNP Paribas, BPER Banca, Deutsche Bank, Intesa Sanpaolo, Mediobanca and UniCredit, the person said.

It was not immediately possible to reach the banks for comment.

($1 = 0.9508 euros)

(Reporting by Elvira Pollina; additional reporting by Isabel Demetz, Writing by Valentina Za and Elvira Pollina; Editing by Gavin Jones, Andrew Heavens and Alexander Smith)