“Excellent for the industry”, “excellent news for Impresa and for our market”, “anything that strengthens this sector deserves to be welcomed.” Media agencies praise the MFE–Impresa deal.
“Regardless of whether the deal goes ahead, it is already positive news that a major European media group with operations across several countries has shown interest in one of Portugal’s leading media companies. It is a clear sign that our market has potential and is attracting the attention of major international media groups. If the deal is completed, it will be excellent news for both Impresa and the Portuguese media market.” This is how Alberto Rui Pereira, CEO of IPG Mediabrands Portugal, reacted to the proposed acquisition of a stake in Impresa, the owner of SIC, by MediaForEurope (MFE).
Alberto Rui Pereira explained why he believes it would be “excellent news”. “It is essential that our media groups have the financial strength to invest during this period of transformation and maintain the stability needed to safeguard their independence and future growth. Having a major international partner provides that financial capacity,” he said.
Pedro Baltazar shares that view. “The interest and discussions between Impresa and MFE are nothing new—I believe they have been ongoing for more than three years. If the acquisition of a significant stake, and consequently a management partnership, is confirmed, it would be excellent news for the industry.”
According to the Nova Expressão executive, the deal would “clearly bring additional resources and a higher expected standard of content”, with implications for the wider media landscape. “It will be interesting to see how the other media groups respond. Some degree of consolidation will be inevitable, leading to greater efficiency and, naturally, higher-quality content,” he told +M.
He added that the impact would also be felt in advertising investment. “For the market’s other stakeholders, it would create greater investment opportunities in Portugal and provide the scale needed to help rebalance advertising spend towards national media and away from international platforms,” said the agency’s founder.
Francisco Teixeira begins by stressing that he does not comment on matters he is not familiar with, and therefore has nothing to say about this specific case. However, the WPP Country Manager and CEO of WPP Media notes that “it is increasingly important to have free and independent media, especially in a context where social media consumption is growing and undifferentiated, anonymous and often false content producers are proliferating.” In other words, he concludes, “anything that brings greater solidity to this sector should be welcomed: solidity of knowledge, operational solidity, financial solidity, technological solidity and solidity in content production.”
Impresa, the owner of SIC and Expresso, confirmed early on Saturday that it is in talks with MFE regarding the acquisition of a “significant stake” in the company. For the time being, however, “there is no binding agreement between the shareholder and MFE to that effect,” the company said in a statement filed with the Portuguese Securities Market Commission (CMVM).
“Following the reports published in the media, Impresa wishes to clarify that its majority shareholder has informed the company that it is engaged in exclusive discussions with MFE to assess potential corporate transactions involving the acquisition of a significant stake in Impresa,” the company said. It added, however, that “as of today, there is no binding agreement between the shareholder and MFE in relation to such a transaction.”
The statement to the Portuguese securities regulator confirms an earlier report by ECO/+M that Impresa is in talks with MFE over a capital agreement. Founded by Silvio Berlusconi in 1980 and still controlled by the Berlusconi family, MFE has an international presence in markets including Spain, where it owns broadcasters Telecinco and Cuatro.
The deal is understood to be close, following months of unsuccessful negotiations with the Soares dos Santos family, which owns the Jerónimo Martins group.
The possibility of new shareholders joining the group had already been raised by Francisco Pedro Balsemão in July, during the APDC Congress. “We are not opposed to bringing in new investors or external partners. If it is a win-win relationship, we are open to it,” he said at the time.
