MILAN (Reuters) – Mediaset has lodged an appeal against a court ruling that lifted restrictions placed on French media giant Vivendi’s stake in the Italian broadcaster, two legal sources said on Friday.
Last month an Italian administrative court removed regulatory curbs that capped Vivendi’s voting stake in Mediaset at 10%, potentially giving back to the French group voting rights on its full 29% holding.
That could give Vivendi powers to block any extraordinary resolutions at Mediaset shareholder meetings as well as help it to secure some representatives on the board of the Italian firm, which is controlled by former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.
The two groups have been locked in a legal battle since 2016 when Vivendi ditched an accord to buy Mediaset’s pay-TV unit and built a stake which Mediaset considers hostile.
Mediaset declined to comment. Vivendi could not be immediately reached for comment.
Reporting by Elvira Pollina, editing by Valentina Za and Susan Fenton