A consortium fronted by former Italian premier Silvio Berlusconi yesterday sealed a €3.1 billion (£2.1 billion) buyout deal for Endemol, the producer of Big Brother.

The purchase will see the return of John de Mol, Endemol co-founder and Big Brother creator, three years after he quit the company to pursue other ventures.

Mediaset, the Italian broadcaster in which Mr Berlusconi has a 36 per cent stake; Cyrte Investments, Mr de Mol’s Dutch investment group and Goldman Sachs, the investment bank, snapped-up an immediate 75 per cent stake from Telefonica, the Spanish Telecom giant, for €2.63 billion.

Under the terms of the deal, they must make an offer for the remaining 25 per cent floated on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange at €25 a share as soon as possible, bringing the total to €3.1 billion.

The Berlusconi and de Mol-led bid was understood to have been the highest on offer in a hotly-contested auction that saw off a rival French attempt from Stephane Courbit, head of Endemol France, as well as a bid by Televisa, the Mexican television company, in a second round which ended late last week.

The new owners said they will split the 75 per cent stake as well as the additional 25 per cent equally three ways and will inject a further €65 million into Endemol for development of new shows.

For Mediaset, the deal represents an opportunity for international expansion, after it lost out in an attempt to aquire a German broadcaster to a private equity group last year. Mr de Mol quit Endemol three years ago to pursue other ventures, but is understood to be returning initially in a behind the scenes role. Last week, Cyrte acquired the rights to the Hammer Horror film back catalogue with the purchase of Hammer Film Productions.

Endemol was founded in 1994 when two Dutch production companies run by Joop van den Ende and John de Mol merged. It floated on the Amsterdam stock exchange in 1996 and was bought by Telefonica in 2000, for €5.5 billion (£3.76 billion) in 2000, when it was de-listed. Telefonica then re-listed the group in 2005, spinning-out legal and beneficial control of Endemol France.

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