Murdoch Casts Eye on 3 Italian TV Networks : Media: News Corp. confirms talks with holding company owned by ex-prime minister.

Rupert Murdoch is considering buying a stake in former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s three television networks, answering the question of where the billionaire may move next in expanding his global media business.

Murdoch’s News Corp. confirmed Friday in a statement that “contacts have been made” with Berlusconi’s Fininvest, but added that there has been no firm offer.

A spokesman for Fininvest, Berlusconi’s holding company, confirmed that preliminary discussions have taken place and that management has been holding talks with several media companies, including News Corp. The Australia-based media concern is controlled by Murdoch and his family.

European news reports said Murdoch has offered between $2 billion and $2.8 billion for as much as 51% of the networks, their libraries and ad sales operations. Reports in Europe say Fininvest’s three channels--Canale 5, Italia 1 and Rete 4--have been valued at about $5 billion.

But in its statement, News Corp. said that “the numbers that are being reported are highly exaggerated.”

The news comes two days after telecommunications giant MCI Corp. agreed to invest $2 billion in News Corp. That investment--which analysts say could translate into an additional $4 billion in borrowing power for Murdoch--has led to widespread speculation about his potential acquisition targets.

Although rumors have included such investments as Seagram Co.’s 15% stake in Time Warner Inc., executives familiar with Murdoch’s style said he is more likely to target a music company such as EMI. He may also be interested in buying cable assets if they become available.

The lack of a record label remains the biggest gap in Murdoch’s entertainment conglomerate, which includes the Twentieth Century Fox studio and the Fox Television Network. He has also hinted that he is interested in expanding into the music business.

Fox officials are known to have been among the entertainment company representatives that have courted former Warner Bros. Records executives Mo Ostin and Lenny Waronker in recent weeks about a possible record venture.

Executives close to Murdoch said he is likely to use the MCI money to shore up the holes in his global reach, as well as bolster his balance sheet.

He now reaches more than half the world’s population through his Star TV network, which serves Asia; BSkyB, which broadcasts to Western Europe, and Fox Broadcasting in North America. But he would like a presence in Eastern Europe and Latin America, and he intends to strengthen his system of stations and his news operation.

One industry executive said Murdoch would love nothing more than to be able to broadcast news worldwide and that Turner Broadcasting System might be the way to do that.

But Ted Turner, head of Turner Broadcasting, is not likely to embrace that idea, having refused to do a deal with Murdoch in the 1980s. Time Warner is trying to sell its 21% stake in Turner, which cable giant Tele-Communications Inc. has first rights to buy.

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Times staff writer Sallie Hofmeister in New York and Bloomberg Business News contributed to this report.