Murdoch Seeking Italian Banks as Pay-TV Partners, MF Reports By Dan Liefgreen
Milan, June 20 (Bloomberg) -- News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch has asked investment bank Mediocredito Centrale SpA to find financial partners for his planned Italian pay-television venture, MF reported without citing anyone.
Murdoch met this week with Mediocredito Chief Executive Officer Matteo Arpe, who has been asked to find Italian banks interested in joining his purchase of pay-television business Telepiu SpA, MF said. Mediocredito is a unit of Banca di Roma SpA, Italy's fourth-largest bank.
Murdoch may meet the CEOs of IntesaBci SpA, Italy's biggest bank, and Unicredito SpA, the third largest, in Milan today, MF said.
News Corp. plans to pay 1.5 billion euros ($1.4 billion) in cash and assumed debt to buy Telepiu from Vivendi Universal SA. After the purchase Murdoch wants to merge Telepiu with Stream SpA, another Italian pay-television company he jointly owns with Telecom Italia SpA, the country's biggest phone business.
