Murdoch Talks Merger for Italy Pay-TV Unit
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LONDON — Media tycoon Rupert Murdoch and Vivendi Universal Chief Executive Jean-Marie Messier are discussing a possible merger of their Italian pay-television units, the Financial Times reported Thursday.
Murdoch, chairman of News Corp., is in the early stages of exploring a tie-up between Stream, which News Corp. owns jointly with Telecom Italia, and Telepiu, owned by Vivendi’s Canal Plus.
Neither company’s representatives would comment.
A merger would likely be a source of concern for European Union regulators, the paper reported.
Murdoch and Messier aim to agree to merger terms within four to six weeks and then sound out EU and Italian regulators, the paper reported.
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