EU Executive Clears Vivendi Buying Lagardere, With Conditions

The European Commission on Friday announced it has cleared French media group Vivendi fully acquiring Lagardere, the French publishing and retail conglomerate, subject to conditions

Brussels, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 9th Jun, 2023 ) :The European Commission on Friday announced it has cleared French media group Vivendi fully acquiring Lagardere, the French publishing and retail conglomerate, subject to conditions.

The decision is contingent upon Vivendi selling off its Editis publishing business, which rivals that of Lagardere's Hachette unit, and its Gala celebrity magazine, which competes with Lagardere's Paris Match, the commission said.

"These commitments fully address the competition concerns identified by the Commission," which conducted an in-depth investigation, it said.

Editis and Gala "constitute a viable business that would enable a potential buyer to effectively compete with the merged entity," it said.

The commission added that an independent trustee would monitor full compliance with Vivendi's commitments to sell those units.

"Vivendi can only implement the acquisition of Lagardere following the Commission's approval of a suitable purchaser," the commission said.

As well as Hachette and Paris Match, Lagardere owns the Relay chain of airport and railway station newsagents, France's Europe 1 radio station and other media outlets.

Vivendi, which raised its previous stake in Lagardere to 57 percent last year after a bitter shareholder battle, owns a range of assets in movie and tv production, including the Canal+ network, as well as in publishing and advertising.

Vivendi is owned by billionaire Vincent Bollore, while Lagardere was controlled by the heir of its founder, Arnaud Lagardere.

Vivendi's divestment of Editis and Gala was trailed months before the European Commission's green light.

The EU commission for antitrust matters, Margrethe Vestager, said Vivendi's divestment promises were crucial to maintain competition in the market for French-language books and magazines.

"We need to make sure that the book publishing and press markets remain competitive and diversified, to foster a plurality of ideas and opinions," she said.

"The remedies proposed by Vivendi will allow for the preservation of existing competition in those markets, to the benefit of consumers."