Vivendi finally obtains the authorization to absorb Lagardère

2023-06-10 07:24:00

Finally ! After three years of a fierce standoff, Vivendi, the group of billionaire Vincent Bolloré, was authorized on Friday by the European Commission to absorb its former rival Lagardère. But the transaction will only take place on two conditions: Vivendi must sell its subsidiary Editis, a publishing giant, as well as the magazine Gala.

The operation should be finalized by the end of the year, and it would take the publishing and media giant into a new dimension, with increased international weight.

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Avoid the creation of a publishing giant

The assignments requested from Vivendi are intended to prevent possible anti-competitive practices. Brussels feared that the operation, as initially planned, ” harms competition » in publishing throughout the book value chain, where Editis and Hachette share certain segments almost alone, as well as in the magazine press, where Lagardère is well established with the weekly Paris Match. Editis, acquired in 2019 by Vivendi, is none other than the French number two in publishing. We find in its pavilion big names like Robert Laffont, Nathan, Le Robert or Pocket. Lagardère owns the world’s third largest publisher, Hachette Livre.

Vincent Bolloré and his children, who control Vivendi and its cascade of holdings, had agreed in the summer of 2022 to offload Editis. An opportunity seized by Daniel Kretinsky, increasingly present in the media (The world, Elle, France Sunday, Paris here, Marianne, among others) and distribution (Fnac Darty, Casino). Its International Media Invest group signed a promise to purchase Editis on April 23. According to comments made by Yannick Bolloré in April, the price negotiated between the two parties is close to the estimate of financial analysts, which stood at 500 and 600 million euros. Vivendi would thus concede a significant discount compared to the 829 million euros paid that it paid to acquire Editis in 2019.

The group has also pledged to sell the weekly celebrity news Galawhich is on the same information segment as Paris Match. The title ” already the subject of many expressions of interest “, according to Vivendi. The company hopes to finalize both operations by the end of October.

Vivendi increases its turnover by more than 50%

These commitments fully address the competition concerns identified by the Commission in its investigation, judged the European executive. The Commission estimated in a press release that the assets sold ” constitute a viable business that would allow a potential buyer to compete effectively » the Vivendi group reinforced by the assets of Lagardère. The Commission’s decision is subject to full compliance with the commitments entered into, and the implementation of the transfers will be monitored by an independent trustee under the supervision of the Commission. In particular, it will assess buyer suitabilityunder a separate approval process.

In a interview at Figaro online Friday, Yannick Bolloré, Chairman of the Vivendi Supervisory Board, believes that thanks to this merger, the Lagardère group will be globally consolidated in the accounts of Vivendi, whose turnover will increase ” from 9.6 billion euros to 16.5 billion euros and (the) workforce from 38,315 employees to 65,698 “. The group will thus reach a 63% international weight », compared to 54% previously.

The conquest of Lagardère is a key step in the refocusing of the Bolloré family on media and publishing. With Hachette Livre, which owns houses such as Grasset, Fayard, Stock or Calmann-Lévy, Vivendi will be able to compete with the German Bertelsmann, a family group combining books and audiovisual.

End of a soap opera

Vivendi had launched its assault in early 2020, when the former industrial and media empire Lagardère was at its worst. Weakened by the Covid-19 pandemic, the beleaguered boss-heir Arnaud Lagardère, heavily in debt and sued by an activist fund, Amber Capital. In a message to his employees consulted by AFP, Mr. Lagardère was pleased to work from now on with a “ friend, Vincent Bolloré, so unfairly taken to task lately “. The latter is indeed regularly criticized for his strong political opinions which lean to the right, and are reflected in several of his media such as the continuous news channel NEWS. His critics fear that he will now impose them on the publishing houses of Hachette Livre and the media of Lagardère.

Heard at the start of 2022 by senators worried regarding his growing influence, Mr. Bolloré had rejected any accusation of interventionism. ” I don’t do politics “, he proclaimed, once morest the investigations of several media. The news of the green light from Brussels comes shortly before the general meeting of the Bolloré family holding company, the Compagnie de l’Odet, scheduled for June 14.