The “Succession” of the Berlusconi heirs opens the door to the sale of Mediaset

To death this Monday, June 12, at the age of 86, from Silvio Berlusconidue to leukemia, the family fight for an inheritance that Forbes quantifies around 8,600 million euros. The transalpine emperor with arms in the political, real estate, football and audiovisual fields wanted to leave everything tied up and well tied up. But this does not always go as planned.

The three children of the second marriage of The Knight They want to battle against the two of the first, who in turn have their own interests and could lead a war that, if it occurs, will compromise the future of Mediaset España, in fact, of the entire emporium.

Two weddings and five children

Silvio Berlusconi married in 1965 with Carla Dall’Oglio with whom he had two children: Marina Berlusconi y Pier Silvio Berlusconi. The first is chaired by Finiverst, a conglomerate that owns Mediaset, the Mondadori publishing house, the Manzoni theater and the AC Monza team. And the second is the majority shareholder of Fininvest and runs Mediaset.

Both were in charge of staggering the two weddings late with which his father threatened with the singer Francesca Pascale (49 years younger than him) and with the journalist and last girlfriend Marta Fascina (53 years younger), deputy of Firza Italia and the woman who has acted after the state funeral as the ‘widow’ of the former prime minister.

Before Fascina, Berlusconi had a relationship with the aforementioned, 37 years old (bottom image). They were together for more than ten years and their break did not come to light until March 2020, when the former prime minister appeared with Fascina at a luxury resort in Switzerland. In July of last year, Pascale married the singer Paola Turci.

Silvio and Marina feared that both ladies put the spoon in the inheritance and now they are preparing to defend their interests against the children of Silvio’s second marriage with Verónica Lario, her half brothers Barbara, Eleonora and Luigi.

This trio intends to sell Mediaset, as suspected by investors who greeted the death of Il Cavaliere with investments that resulted in stock market rises that exceeded 10%.

Rupert Murdoch, Silvio Berlusconi, Logan Roy: Succesion

The HBO series Succession, which has just aired its fifth and final season, is about a fictional American family, owner of an international media conglomerate. This successful production is somehow inspired by the three sons of the tycoon Rupert Murdoch, owner of the about trump Fox News and a colossal media conglomerate across the planet. They say that Murdoch and his family have watched in astonishment at the family soap opera that has been unleashed with him still in body and threatening to remarry at 92 years of age.

Parallels could be drawn between Succession and the saga of Berlusconi that they may have to see the scene of The Godfather in which Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando) alerts his young son Michael (Al Pacino), now Don, about the danger of betrayal in his environment. “He will be a very close one, the first to propose a meeting. That will be the traitor,” says the masterful character of Mario Puzo, taken to the cinema by Francis Ford Coppola.

We do not know what warnings the former Italian Prime Minister gave to his son Pier Silvio, who, after the death of his father, showed his willingness to seek the growth of the company before the workers of Media For Europe, conglomerate seeking (supposedly) to create a Netflix based in the Netherlands with roots in Italy, Spain and Germany. Other analysts believe that in reality this pan-European dream to compete with the majors It is actually a smokescreen to hide speculative, stock market, business and tax domiciliation movements that are much more interesting in view of the income statement or a possible sale of the holding company at a very good price.

But Pier Silvio Berlusconi He took advantage of the heartbreaking moment after his father’s death to harangue his workers, as if he knew them all, one by one, and their families, like one big family: “We must make an even stronger and more alive group”, pointed. And he added that they are and will always be “a proof of freedom. We are free. We are a free editor in what we bring to the homes of Italians and Spaniards.”

Implications of Don Silvio’s death

Paolo Vasile predicts from his golden retirement that Berlusconi’s death “is not going to influence” Finnivest’s audiovisual business, but evidently the death of the founder hits the president of Mediaset Spain, Borja Prado, saddened after a statement in which the group stresses that it has no competence in the matter of news. To Borja Prado, Vasile’s enemy and little friend of his replacement, Alessandro Salem, would not care if a shareholding earthquake occurred to fish in troubled waters or sponsor a Spanish, and conservative, offer for the Spanish branch of Media For Europe. And if that were the reason why the former president of Endesa resists there, despite the humiliations to which his own chain submits him by communicating to the point of cloying that the president is there to be a vase? The loot might be worth it. Borja Prado has become strong, setting up a giant office with a dining room, kitchen and cook within Mediaset, which is only accessed with a password that changes daily and is only known by a few, as Vertele announced. At the same time, Borja has informed the CEO that Sandra Fernández (the company’s Communications Director) is no longer its communication director: “It will be yours, but not mine,” he snapped at Salem, according to a source from all solvency

The only man who deceived Berlusconi

The French from Vivendi or the Italian Urbano Cairo (owner of The world o Corriere della Seraamong many other media) have been the two giants who at some point have dreamed of controlling the media empire that he founded Silvio Berlusconi in Milan. But Vivendi is in the disinvestment phase in Mediaset and has just received authorization from Brussels to take control of the millionaire French group Lagardère. In any case, Mediaset España (or whatever it is called now) has just handed over a very important part of its production to the giant Banijay Group, which is more than 30% owned by Vivendi. Only in Spain, Banijay controls Cuarzo (Sandra Barneda’s new show), Magnolia, Endemol, Shine Iberia (Masterchef), Diagonal TV, Gestmusic, Telegenia or Zeppelin TV.

However, and although everything has a price, the purchase of Media For Europe It does not seem to be available to Vivendi and it remains to be seen if it is for the businessman Urbano Cairo, who a little over four decades ago took his first steps in multimedia as Silvio’s apprentice and now has influential media outlets in Italy and Spain. For now, Cairo has been interviewed by the generalists that he has in both countries (Corriere della Sera and The World). In them, he has dedicated himself to glossing over his teacher, “a special person” who “was like those old Chinese teachers who let you see what they did,” said the owner of Torino Football Club. Rizzoli sources (RCS MediaGroup, the Cairo holding company) say that Urbano Cairo is “the only businessman who was able to fool Berlusconi.”

This possible operation has been revealed by Federico Jimenez Losantos, columnist of The world and partner of Unidad Editorial: “There are rumors that Cairo, who runs Corriere and Unidad Editorial in Spain, who left the Berlusconi empire and created his own, is going for Mediaset. He is a person whose criteria as an administrator is respected in Italy and can get investors. It would be amazing if Unidad Editorial bought Mediaset. It’s rare, but not impossible,” said the radio operator.

Uncertain future

Pier Silvio says he intends to continue standing, as he explained to the Mediaset workers to whom he sent a letter about his father: “He has been a man who has given a lot, a lot. He has created a lot. And he always considered to his company as his beloved creature. My father, our founder, has always loved you all, one by one. And now our duty is to follow in his indelible footsteps, work, work, work. With enthusiasm and respect.”

“Today we have to look ahead and make an even greater effort, more and more. We have to build an even stronger and more alive Group. We have to do it for Mediaset. We have to do it for all of us. But, above all, we we want to do for him. I hug you tight. You are in my heart. And you will always be in his heart,” he assured. He only needed to ask that about “Are you going to trust me or your own eyes”?

The heir says that he is still standing, it is not known if out of conviction or to ‘fatten up’ a possible sale of Fininvest’s audiovisual area, but, unlike the Serie Succession, This production is still on the air.