This project, which remains subject to the acceptance of the European Commission, aims to allow the actual takeover by Vivendi de Lagardère, and its nugget Hachette, third world publishing group.
Le Monde with AFP
The French media group Vivendi will study a project to sell its editis subsidiary, number two of the edition in France, in order to avoid the competition problems posed by its rapprochement with the Lagardère group, owner of the French leader Hachette, he announced Thursday, July 28.
“Vivendi plans to carry out this operation mainly by the distribution of editis shares to the shareholders of Vivendi and their concomitant admission to the Euronext market in Paris.”
This project, which remains subject to the acceptance of the European Commission, aims to allow the actual takeover by Vivendi de Lagardère, and its nugget Hachette, third world publishing group.
Already the majority with the capital of Lagardère after the success of its public offer submitted at the start of the year, Vivendi, however, only exerted 23 % of the voting rights, pending the authorization of Group takeover by the competition authorities. However, the prospect of a marriage between Hachette and Editis, the first two French edition actors, has arouses concern in the whole sector for months.
“Go forward”
If the project was carried out, the Bolloré group, at the Manettes de Vivendi, of which it has 28 % of the shares, also plans to sell the publisher’s actions received to a new reference shareholder, said Vivendi.
Vivendi initially wished to keep Editis, which he had acquired at the end of 2018 for 900 million euros, but he now plans to give it up, in order to “ensure the sustainability and integrity of Editis”, which Federates fifty-three houses in the fields of literature, education and reference.
This transfer would allow Vivendi “to go ahead in his rapprochement project” with Lagardère, said the chairman of the group’s executive board, Arnaud de Puyfontaine. At the end of the operation, there will be “no more link between the Vivendi group and the Editis group,” he said.