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MEDIASET ESPAÑA COMUNICACIÓN, S.A. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TOTHE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AT DECEMBER 31, 2013
(Expressed in thousand of euros)
This resolution was appealed before the National Court of Justice as part of ordinary civil lawsuit 474/2011. A sentence
handed down on January 8, 2013 overruled it, upholding the imposition of the fine.
Another appeal was filed before the Supreme Court; the Company has solid expectations that it will receive a favorable
ruling: either an annulment, or a significant reduction in the amount of the fine.
The main arguments against the Supreme Court ruling as well as the CNC’s resolution are as follows:
• The alleged Action Plan infraction did not take place: it was presented within the CNC’s established deadline.
• In the event that it was indeed presented late, the period did not exceed a month and thus, the Group complied
with the commitment with the CNC (that the Action Plan was a mere development outline); thus, no general or
underlying interests were harmed.
• Therefore, rather than a material lack of compliance, the Group was guilty of a simple procedural error, and therefore
did not breach anti-trust laws; consequently, Law 30/1992 of the Legal Regime of Public Administrations and Common
Administrative Procedure laws are applicable.
• It is thus not considered necessary to apply the terms of the Anti-Trust Law: a procedural error cannot be considered
a very serious violation, and is thus unworthy of a 3,660,000 fine, as this sum is totally disproportionate to the
infringement in question.
• Finally, the fine is a frontal violation and breach of the principles which prohibit reformatio in peius (Articles 89.2 and
113.3 of Law 30/1992), since the CNC only chose to initiate disciplinary proceedings against MEDIASET ESPAÑA
once it had decided to appeal the CNC-approved Action Plan, and not when the alleged violation took place.
Thus, the accompanying consolidated balance sheet does not include a provision for this contingency, as the directors
and legal advisors do not consider it likely that this risk will materialize.
PROCEEDINGS RELATEDTO MEDIASET ESPAÑA COMUNICACIÓN, S.A.’S
SUPPOSED FAILURE TO COMPLYWITHTHE TELECINCO-CUATRO MERGER
COMMITMENTS
On February 6, 2013, the el Comisión Nacional de Defensa de la Competencia (CNDC - Anti-trust authorities) handed
down a ruling on Dossier SNC/0024/12 Mediaset (the “resolution”), in which Mediaset España Comunicación, S.A.
(“Mediaset España”) failed to comply with certain commitments and obligations established in the C-0230/09Telecinco/
Cuatro merger dossier; a fine of 15,600,000 was set.
The resolution states that Mediaset España failed to comply with four of the twelve commitments upon which the
Telecinco/Cuatro merger was authorized (commitments (ii), (iii), (vi) and (xii)), as well as different requirements for
providing information to the CNS regarding these obligations.
The commitments set Mediaset España restrictions in order to neutralize or compensate for potential anti-trust issues
arising from the transaction.These include:
1...,158,159,160,161,162,163,164,165,166,167 169,170,171,172,173,174,175,176,177,178,...216