The battle for control of Italy’s biggest commercial broadcaster, Mediaset, is heating up. <br /><br /> The French film, TV, telecom and videogame group Vivendi has increased its stake in Mediaset – but so too has its top shareholder Fininvest.<br /><br /> Vivendi now owns more than 12 percent of the shares – up from the three percent it held at the start of the week – and is aiming for 20 percent.<br /><br /> Fininvest meanwhile has said it is on track to buy almost 40 percent. <br /><br /> This has led to talk of a hostile takeover bid for Mediaset, which is controlled by the family of Italy’s former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi. <br /><br /> Mediaset shares continued to rise, having jumped 36 percent on Tuesday they are up more than 75 percent in just two weeks.<br /><br /> Merger mania<br /><br /> Merging telecoms and media companies is all the rage in order to bundle together communications, entertainment and utility services and fend off competition from the likes of Netflix and Amazon.<br /><br /> Vivendi recently built up a 24.8 percent stake in Telecom Italia.<br /><br /> On Tuesday Fininvest said it had filed a complaint with prosecutors in Milan and market regulator Consob against Vivendi, citing market manipulation, over the buying of Mediaset shares.<br /><br /> There is already bad blood between Vivendi and Mediaset after the French media group walked away from an earlier agreement to take control of the company’s pay-TV arm Mediaset Premium.<br /><br /> Mediaset is suing Vivendi for damages over the collapsed deal.<br />
