France's Vivendi pushes for 30 percent stake in Mediaset

French media conglomerate Vivendi said Monday it planned to raise its stake in Mediaset to up to 30 percent from 20 percent now, in a strategy that raised fierce resistance from the Italian TV company.

Vivendi took its current stake in Mediaset, which is controlled by former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's family, last week in a lightning move which the family -- and the Italian government -- have called "hostile".

On Monday, Berlusconi's company Fininvest said it had filed a complaint with Italian financial markets watchdog Consob against Vivendi for "market manipulation and abuse of privileged information".

This follows criminal proceedings Fininvest brought last week against Vivendi at a Milan court.

To counter the French company, the Berlusconi family last week bought more shares in Mediaset, raising their stake to 38.3 percent from 35 previously.

Vivendi executive board chief Arnaud de Puyfontaine denied that his company's intentions were aggressive, saying he had met Mediaset chairman Pier Silvio Berlusconi, the son of the former prime minister.

"This is not an escalation by the French aiming to conquer an Italian crown jewel," he told daily Corriere della Sera in an interview published on Saturday.

But analysts said that relations between Vivendi and Mediaset are clearly unfriendly, after tensions erupted over Vivendi dropping a plan to take over Mediaset's Premium pay-TV channels.

"A new game is beginning and it's getting more brutal," said one source close to the matter after Vivendi's surprise purchase of its current stake.

Vivendi, led by supervisory board chairman Vincent Bollore, an experienced corporate raider, has said it hopes to create a southern European media behemoth. Analysts said this could possibly also involve Telecom Italia in which it holds more than 24 percent.

They said Vivendi may be aiming for a seat on the board of Mediaset to force the Italian company's cooperation, although Vivendi said last week that it was "too early" to talk about a director's seat.