The heirs of Portuguese media group Impresa’s founder have unified their voting power, solidifying their control over the company amid a potential major stake sale to Italy’s MediaForEurope.
The five children of Francisco Pinto Balsemão will equally divide his stake in Balseger, the family holding company.
Balseger indirectly controls Impresa through its ownership of Impreger, which in turn holds 50.311% of Impresa’s voting rights.
A new shareholders’ agreement mandates that the heirs — Mónica Balsemão, Henrique Balsemão, Francisco Maria Balsemão, Joana Balsemão, and Francisco Pedro Balsemão — will coordinate their votes on strategic matters across Balseger, Impreger, and Impresa.
This pact requires them to hold pre-meetings to reach unanimous decisions, which then bind all parties to vote accordingly in official general assemblies.
The agreement specifies that no heir can sell Balseger shares unless the acquirer also expressly adheres to this unified voting arrangement.
The announcement was made on Friday to the Portuguese Securities Market Commission (CMVM).
It comes as Impresa’s shares are currently suspended by the CMVM, which stated it is awaiting “relevant information” regarding negotiations for a significant stake sale in the media conglomerate.
Italy’s MediaForEurope (MFE), controlled by the Berlusconi family, is reportedly in talks to acquire a substantial portion of Impresa.