Image disruption at the media group Pro Sieben Sat.1

The television company is postponing its balance sheet date because the subsidiary Jochen Schweizer has to clarify an open regulatory issue. That should also be uncomfortable for the responsible auditor EY.

“It can always be higher!” promises the advertisement. Anyone who buys “the ultimate flight of fancy” with the “Flies & Fallen” gift box from the Jochen Schweizer event platform has to pay 239.90 euros for it. When and whether the recipient redeems the voucher is another question. It also goes deeper. The event company, founded by the former extreme athlete Jochen Schweizer, is a subsidiary of the media giant Pro Sieben Sat.1. Now considerable doubts have arisen about the voucher business, which shakes the entire group, although according to the most recent annual report, the proceeds accounted for only a small single-digit percentage of total sales. Like the former competitor Mydays, Jochen Schweizer belongs to the Pro-Sieben-Sat.1 group via a holding company. The 65-year-old company founder still holds a minority stake.

The listed media group had actually invited to the balance sheet press conference on Thursday. But because of the ambiguity at the subsidiary, there is a surprising shift. It is possible that the date for the shareholders’ meeting on May 2nd can no longer be kept. An audited balance sheet must be available for a general meeting – and so far there has not been one. After an external audit, there was an indication “that the business activities of the two subsidiaries Jochen Schweizer GmbH and Mydays GmbH, which essentially consists of selling vouchers, fall under the Payment Services Supervision Act,” said Pro Sieben Sat.1. “The company is currently examining an adjustment to the Jochen Schweizer Mydays business model.” The law stipulates that payment service providers need Bafin approval.