COLUMNISTS The shares of Premiere shot up more than 30 per cent at one stage on Monday after Silvio Berlusconi revealed he had taken a 3 per cent stake in the German group. Yet, for all the initial excitement about the investment by Fininvest – the Italian media tycoon turned prime minister’s flagship company – in Germany’s biggest pay television operator, it is unlikely to be the first move in a full-blown takeover battle.
Premiere shares gave back some ground on Tuesday after Fininvest claimed its investment was not strategic, dismissing the idea that Mr Berlusconi was about to take on his old friend and rival Rupert Murdoch in Germany. The explanation seems far more prosaic, but at the same time suggests Mr Berlusconi’s sneaking respect for Mr Murdoch.
