London - Spanish telecom Telefonica has sold its stake in the Dutch TV production company Endemol ("Big Brother," "Deal or No Deal") to a group led by former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi's Mediaset, and Endemol founder John de Mol, in a deal valued at $4.6 billion, the Financial Times reported.

Telfonica paid $7.4 billion for Endemol in 2000, and sold its remaining 75% stake to the buyers. The Spanish company has of late focused more on its core telecommunications business, and less on other media assets.

Mediaset and Endemol had recently been feuding, FT.com reports, as Mediaset hired the host of Endemol's "Deal or No Deal" to host a similar show of its own.

Related Links:
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/cc0ca214-01a0-11dc-8b8c-000b5df10621.html

http://tinyurl.com/2okzp3 (Bloomberg)

http://www.mediaset.it

http://www.endemol.com