Former Paramount Global and ITV Studios exec Maria Kyriacou has been nominated as chair of ProSiebenSat.1 Media, which is currently subject to a takeover bid from its largest shareholder.
Kyriacou, who exited her role as Paramount’s President of Broadcast & Studios for International Markets last year, has been proposed as current incumbent Andreas Wiele’s successor. He announced he would not seek re-election earlier this year.
With ProSiebenSat.1’s future very much in focus in 2025 amid an ongoing wrangle for control, Kyriacou will be proposed as a candidate for the supervisory board at the company’s AGM on May 28, alongside Katrin Burkhardt and Simone Scettri, who are up for re-election.
Over the weekend, Reuters reported ProSieben’s management was engaging defense advisers from the likes of Morgan Stanley to fend off a takeover bid from the Berlusconi family-controlled MediaForEurope (MFE), which two weeks ago launched a bid to buy the shares in ProSieben it doesn’t already own at the minimum legal price. It currently owns 29.9%.
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Should the offer be turned down, MFE could end up the owner as it has agreed to buy shares from another investor that take it pass the 29.9% threshold, which would automatically trigger a takeover bid.
ProSieben’s board responded to the takeover offer by saying it would “carefully review the offer after publication of the offer document” before recommending shareholder action. We’ve reached out to ProSieben for further comment.
Last year, ProSieben’s shareholders narrowly rejected an MFE-led proposal for a suite of corporate measures, including separating the core broadcast business from other verticals such as dating. Since then, ProSieben has re-centered its focus on entertainment, in particular its streamer Joyn, and has been selling non-TV assets such as Flaconi and Verivox to raise cash. The company is aiming for full-year 2025 revenues of €4B ($3.4B), according to its recent full-year filing.
Wiele said today that Kyriacou’s “extensive experience and proven leadership in the global media industry make her ideally suited to help guide the successful transformation that ProSiebenSat.1 has begun in the last years.”
Besides her four-year run at Paramount, Kyriacou is known for being President of International at ITV Studios. She also worked at Disney in senior digital distribution roles for 15 years and has sat as a non-exec director on numerous big-name brands’ boards.
Kyriacou said: “It is an honor to be nominated for the supervisory board of ProSiebenSat.1. The company has an impressive legacy in the entertainment industry, and I look forward to working with the board and management team to drive innovation, growth, and value creation for all stakeholders.”
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