Former Paramount World and ITV Studios exec Maria Kyriacou has been nominated as chair of ProSiebenSat.1 Media, which is presently topic to a takeover bid from its largest shareholder.
Kyriacou, who exited her function as Paramount’s President of Broadcast & Studios for Worldwide Markets final 12 months, has been proposed as present incumbent Andreas Wiele’s successor. He introduced he wouldn’t search re-election earlier this 12 months.
With ProSiebenSat.1’s future very a lot in focus in 2025 amid an ongoing wrangle for management, Kyriacou might be proposed as a candidate for the supervisory board on the firm’s AGM on Could 28, alongside Katrin Burkhardt and Simone Scettri, who’re up for re-election.
Over the weekend, Reuters reported ProSieben’s administration was participating protection advisers from the likes of Morgan Stanley to fend off a takeover bid from the Berlusconi family-controlled MediaForEurope (MFE), which two weeks in the past launched a bid to purchase the shares in ProSieben it doesn’t already personal on the minimal authorized value. It presently owns 29.9%.
Ought to the supply be turned down, MFE might find yourself the proprietor because it has agreed to purchase shares from one other investor that take it cross the 29.9% threshold, which might mechanically set off a takeover bid.
ProSieben’s board responded to the takeover supply by saying it could “fastidiously overview the supply after publication of the supply doc” earlier than recommending shareholder motion. We’ve reached out to ProSieben for additional remark.
Final 12 months, ProSieben’s shareholders narrowly rejected an MFE-led proposal for a collection of company measures, together with separating the core broadcast enterprise from different verticals equivalent to courting. Since then, ProSieben has re-centered its deal with leisure, specifically its streamer Joyn, and has been promoting non-TV belongings equivalent to Flaconi and Verivox to boost money. The corporate is aiming for full-year 2025 revenues of €4B ($3.4B), in line with its latest full-year submitting.
Wiele mentioned at present that Kyriacou’s “intensive expertise and confirmed management within the world media trade make her ideally suited to assist information the profitable transformation that ProSiebenSat.1 has begun within the final years.”
Apart from her four-year run at Paramount, Kyriacou is understood for being President of Worldwide at ITV Studios. She additionally labored at Disney in senior digital distribution roles for 15 years and has sat as a non-exec director on quite a few big-name manufacturers’ boards.
Kyriacou mentioned: “It’s an honor to be nominated for the supervisory board of ProSiebenSat.1. The corporate has a powerful legacy within the leisure trade, and I look ahead to working with the board and administration staff to drive innovation, development, and worth creation for all stakeholders.”
