MILAN, June 14 (Reuters) - Merger and acquisition speculation has lifted shares in MFE (MFEB.MI), the late Silvio Berlusconi's TV business, following his death, but a number of obstacles stand in the way of any rapid deal.
With a 19.8% MFE stake, Vivendi (VIV.PA) is widely seen as the natural buyer for MFE.
This week's rally has lifted the market value of the whole of MFE to 1.8 billion euros.
Any accord between Vivendi and Fininvest would require overcoming the deep distrust between the two groups after years of courtroom battles sparked by a failed 2016 TV deal.
Like Fininvest, Vivendi faces a loss on any potential sale of its MFE stake given the gap between book and market prices.
Persons:
Silvio Berlusconi's, Vincent Bollore, Urbano, Pier Silvio Berlusconi, Fininvest, MFE, Emilio Parodi, Valentina Za, Barbara Lewis
Organizations:
MILAN, Vivendi, Reuters, della Sera, U.S, Warner Bros ., VIVENDI, FININVEST, Fininvest, MFE, Thomson
Locations:
MFE, Urbano Cairo, Germany's ProSiebenSat, Italy, Spain, Rome, Netherlands