By Deborah Ball 
 

MILAN--The board of Italian broadcaster Mediaset SpA (MS.MI) rejected new changes proposed by France's Vivendi SA (VIV.FR) to a pay-TV deal between the two companies, setting up a bitter showdown between two of Europe's media giants.

In a statement Thursday, Mediaset said the company will adopt "all necessary measures" to enforce an agreement between the two companies and threatened legal action if Vivendi fails to respect the accord.

In April, Vivendi agreed to acquire Mediaset's pay-TV unit in a deal that also included a 3.5% share swap between the two companies.

But earlier this week, the French company sent a letter to Mediaset, which is controlled by the family of former Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi, in which it proposed new terms: Vivendi would buy only 20% of the pay-TV unit and would also acquire 15% of Mediaset itself in three years.

Write to Deborah Ball at deborah.ball@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 28, 2016 12:15 ET (16:15 GMT)