04/12/2007

Mediaset has announced the creation of a joint venture merging Medusa Film (headed by RTI) - domestic leader in film production - and Taodue, the company headed by Camilla Nesbitt and Pietro Valsecchi that has for some time played a leading role in the production of television drama and closed 2006 with a turnover of €11m and profits of €3.3m.

The new company (which will have net assets of around €370m) will be 75% controlled by RTI and 25% controlled by Taodue's partners.

In a statement to the press, Mediaset announced: "With this operation, we hope to contribute to the creation of a new production domain able to exploit growth prospects in the television and film production market, both domestically and internationally."

Mediaset has "pilfered" TaoDue from De Agostini, who were interested in the joint venture and are an established company in the film and television production and distribution sector, holding shares in Spanish television network Antena 3, joint venture DeA Planeta, Mikado Film and Cattleya.

The Mediaset group, headed by the Berlusconi family, aims to become a giant in the European entertainment industry and last summer acquired 100% shares of the Medusa Group from Fininvest (which in turn owns 35.9% of Mediaset).

The group will pursue the activities initiated when they joined the consortium that took over Endemol (Big Brother's production company): production and distribution of film rights via media that use various platforms and, with the arrival of TaoDue, the production of high quality television drama.

(Translated from Italian)