2023-07-04 11:47:00
This operation is a condition set by Brussels to give the green light to the takeover of Lagardère, owner of “Paris Match”, by Vivendi.
Par Olivier Ubertalli La force de Gala relies on digital. © ROMAIN DOUCELIN / Hans Lucas / Hans Lucas via AFP Published on 07/04/2023 at 1:47 p.m.
And the winner is… the Figaro group. Forced by the European Commission to part ways with the magazine Gala as part of the takeover of Lagardère in order to avoid a dominant position with Paris Match et Here is in the celebrity press segment, Vivendi has chosen the Figaro group, owned by the Dassault family, as the buyer.
The two companies have entered into exclusive negotiations. The estimated amount of the transaction would exceed 50 million euros. It must be approved by October by Brussels, which has given the green light under conditions to the takeover of Lagardère and is also scrutinizing the sale of the publishing group Editis to the IMI group of the billionaire Kretinsky. Vivendi claims to have received “several offers” for the weekly. If the names of LVMH (Groupe Le Parisien-Les Échos) or CMA-CGM have been mentioned, some, like LVMH, have not, according to our information, filed a firm offer.
READ ALSOWhy Vivendi took two years to take over Lagardère
A magazine twice as profitable as “Paris Match”
For Claire Léost, president of Prisma Media, a subsidiary of Vivendi, “selling Gala is heartbreaking.” Created thirty years ago by Axel Ganz, the founder of Prisma Media, the magazine has around sixty journalists managed by Matthias Gurtler out of a total of 130 employees. Gold, Gala is twice as profitable as Paris Match, as a percentage of turnover. It represents 32 million euros in revenue and 10% of Prisma Media’s annual sales. Its paid distribution in France reaches 128,000 copies on average in 2022, down 5% over one year according to the Alliance for Press and Media Figures (ACPM).
READ ALSOWhy Vivendi sells “Gala” to keep “Paris Match”
But the strength of Gala relies on digital. The magazine is powerful on the TikTok social network, popular with young people. It claims more than 5 million subscribers to its TikTok channel and the title of the first European media on this social network and the third in the world. The Figaro group, which bought CCM Benchmark in 2015, already generates 60% of its turnover in digital.
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