By Francesca Chiarano and Mauro Orru 
 

A judge at the Court of Milan has postponed a hearing regarding a merger-related dispute between Mediaset SpA (MS.MI) and Vivendi SA (VIV.FR) to Feb. 1.

The Italian broadcasting company wants to merge its Italian and Spanish operations to create MediaForEurope--a pan-European media and entertainment holding company--in a plan which received initial approval at a shareholders' meeting on Sept. 4, 2019.

However, Mediaset and shareholder Vivendi have been at loggerheads over the plans which the French company challenged in court, claiming the merger "disregards basic shareholders' rights."

The postponement of the hearing in Milan comes after the French company filed an appeal against the resolutions passed at Mediaset's general meeting on Jan. 10, where shareholders backed amendments to MediaForEurope's articles of association as well as the terms and conditions for special voting shares to be issued for the planned merger.

Mediaset barred Simon Fiduciaria--an asset trust which holds a 19.9% stake in Mediaset on behalf of Vivendi--from exercising its voting rights at the meeting.

A few days later, Vivendi launched a separate legal proceeding in the Netherlands seeking an injunction on the planned merger.

A hearing will take place on Feb. 10 at a court in Amsterdam.

This story was translated in whole or in part from an Italian-language version initially published by Milano Finanza-DJ, a partner of Dow Jones & Co.

Write to Francesca Chiarano at francesca.chiarano@mfdowjones.it and to Mauro Orru at mauro.orru@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 21, 2020 12:41 ET (17:41 GMT)