Media tycoons Rupert Murdoch, Leo Kirch and Silvio Berlusconi will not reach any agreement on linking up their empires before mid-January, a spokesman for Belusconi's Fininvest group said. Press reports said talks were launched in Milan which would see the three billionaires forming some sort of partnership of their groups.Australian-born US magnate Murdoch's News Corp. empire spans Asia, Australia, Britain, Italy and the United States. Kirch has found himself in a tough financial situation after EU competition authorities blocked his bid to ally his Kirch Group with fellow German conglomerate Bertelsmann.
Berlusconi, a former Italian prime minister, owns Fininvest, which controls several of Italy's most successful private media.
The press reports said representatives of the three were holding decisive talks in Milan on the linkup plans, which have been codenamed `Traviata'. The Fininvest spokesman denied that a conclusion was at hand, saying that high-level talks will ``recommence after theholidays''. Berlusconi left Italy on Saturday for a two-week Caribbean vacation.
Agence France Presse
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
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