The duo’s offer, examined during a board of directors which was held at the end of January, is today the privileged track, rather than that of the Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky.
by Brice Laemle
The tandem is surprising. Rodolphe Saadé (CEO of the CMA CGM shipowner) and the telecoms tycoon Xavier Niel (founder of Free and individual shareholder of the world) had made competing offers for the resumption of the newspaper La Provence, in 2022. They are now ready To invest jointly in the gross media, specializing in videos aimed at 15-35 year olds on social networks, which is looking for fresh money.
If the operation is not yet completed, because the discussions continue, the two businessmen intend to participate together in a new fundraising of the start-up, according to information Echos , confirmed in the world. Around 40 million euros could be invested by the billionaires, with a contribution from Bpifrance, according to The letter a , to take shares of the company.
The offer of the duo Niel-Saadé, examined during a board of directors which was held at the end of January, is today the privileged track, rather than that of the Czech billionaire project Daniel Kretinsky. Interested in the development of videos on social networks, the boss of the CMI France group and indirect shareholder in the world would have discussed an industrial project involving to take over the control of crude, which the founders would not have wished, favoring A fourth fundraising to keep control of the company.
Thus, the balance between the various current shareholders would not be upset by the arrival of Rodolphe Saadé, Xavier Niel being present since his beginnings through his holding company NJJ Médias. Artemis (Holding of the Pinault family), Tikehau Capital, James Murdoch and Orange Ventures, which are also among the shareholders of crude, could in turn participate, or not, in the capital increase.
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The pioneer in short videos in France lived a difficult year 2022 after years of “hypercroissance”. Faced with the slowdown in investments, the media needed to redirect its strategy towards short-term profitability and made the choice of rationalization, even if the founders defended it.
Resource reallocations have had the direct consequence of job cuts, especially internationally, the company now wishing to create more content in Paris. Also, the media, which aims for financial balance by the second half of 2023, was forced to act that its raw X streaming platform, launched in April 2021, had not been able to find the hoped for in A competitive universe already congested by the Americans Netflix, Amazon Prime or Disney+.
After a third successful fundraising in June 2021, of around 63 million euros (after 10 million in 2018 and 36 million in 2019), Guillaume Lacroix, the director of the publication, said he wanted to double his figure ‘Business in 2022 and do the same in 2023 to no longer depend on investors. The co -founder of Brut, in 2016, with three other former colleagues from Canal+, Laurent Lucas, Roger Coste and Renaud Le Van Kim (director of the production company Together Media and former producer of the “Grand Journal”), has obviously changed Notice.