At the end of his preliminary investigation, the European executive “fears” that the acquisition of Hachette by the group of Vincent Bolloré “reduce the diversity, accessibility and the affordable character of books in French”.
by Nicole Vulser
Unsurprisingly, the authorities responsible for competition from the European Commission gave themselves 90 working days, until April 19, 2023, to decide on the acquisition of Lagardère by the Vivendi group.
At the end of an OPA launched in February 2022 and notified to the Commission on October 24, the group of Vincent Bolloré – notably owner of Editis, the French number two of the edition (Robert Laffont, Julliard, Plon, 10/18, La Découverte, Nathan…) – holds 57.3 % of the shares (and 47.3 % of the voting rights) of the Lagardère group – the parent company of Hachette Book, French number one edition (Grasset, Fayard, Stock, Le Livre de Poche, Editions Albert René…) and world number in this sector.
The European Commission has opened an in -depth investigation because it fears “that the envisaged acquisition does not reduce competition in a certain number of markets on the whole chain of book value” and in the edition of “People” magazines (with Paris Match at Lagardère, Gala and here at Vivendi).
the fear of a capital concentration
According to the preliminary survey conducted by the Commission, this redemption is “likely to significantly reduce competition in the copyright purchase markets associated with French -language books, distribution and The marketing of books in French language but also from the sale of books in French to retailers “. The commission is indeed fearing that in acquiring Lagardère, “Vivendi becomes the first player in the sector of the publishing of books in French, as well as the main integrated group present on this market”.
The historian of the Jean-Yves Mollier edition also warns against “a capitalist concentration, between oligopoly and monopoly, with a market share such that Hachette crushes the competition”, like Madrigall or Media Participations.
The Commission fears that the operation “reduce the diversity, accessibility and affordable character of books in French”. In addition, Hachette competitors could be “deprived of essential sources of income to support their activities arising from the edition of the best -selling authors”. They are also likely to have only “limited access to essential services for the marketing and distribution of their books”, while “bookstores and readers [could be] confronted, respectively, with reduced margins and on an increase in prices “.
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