REFILE-UPDATE 2-Fininvest says damage order suspended

(Corrects spelling of "acknowledges" in second bullet point)

* Suspension to be discussed in court on Dec. 1

* Beneficiary CIR acknowledges the decision

* CIR shares down 1.6 percent; Mediaset, Mondadori lower

(Adds CIR comments para 3)

By Danilo Masoni

MILAN, Oct 27 (Reuters) - Fininvest, holding company of Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, said an appeal court had temporarily suspended a lower court ruling it should pay damages to holding company CIR (CIRX.MI).

Earlier in October a Milan court had ruled Fininvest [FIN.UL] must pay 750 million euros ($1.1 billion) to CIR for bribing a judge in a 1990s battle to buy publisher Mondadori (MOED.MI). [ID:nL5727182]

CIR, the holding company controlled by Carlo De Benedetti, Berlusconi's arch-rival, acknowledged the suspension move and said its lawyers would prepare for Dec. 1, when the decision will be discussed in court.

Prospects of a damage payment had raised speculation about Fininvest, which has 38.6 percent of broadcaster Mediaset (MS.MI), selling assets or companies it controls paying higher dividends to help finance any payment.

The case relates to a 1991 ruling in which a Rome court effectively enabled Fininvest to acquire a controlling stake in Mondadori from CIR.

A criminal court in 2007 found Berlusconi's former lawyer Cesare Previti guilty of bribing a judge to rule in favour of Fininvest, but Berlusconi himself was cleared of responsibility.

By 1451 GMT, shares in CIR were down 1.6 percent at 1.558 euros. Mediaset was down 0.4 percent and Mondadori was down 2.2 percent in an overall weak Milan stock market. (Editing by David Cowell and David Holmes)