The European Commission has opened a formal investigation for possibly jumping the gun in Vivendi's pending acquisition of Lagardère, the French media, publishing and travel retail conglomerate. Vivendi, which is owned by conservative billionaire Vincent Bolloré and is the parent company of pay TV giant Canal+ Group, has a 57.35% stake in Lagardere. The Paris-headquartered company launched an OPA to acquire the remaining stake in Lagardere in 2022. After raising anti-trust concerns, the European Commission eventually gave its support for...
Bolloré Group
Vincent
Bolloré
Owner
Billionaire Bolloré’s family conglomerate is the main shareholder — with a 29.5% stake — in media group Vivendi, which houses French pay TV leader Canal+, ad giant Havas, publisher Prisma Media and mobile games firm Gameloft. Officially retired from chairing Vivendi and Bolloré since last year, the workaholic businessman is believed to still play a role in its strategy. Vivendi recently received EU regulatory approval for a takeover of French media group Lagardère, home to France’s largest book publisher Hachette, flagship newspaper JDD and iconic media brand Paris Match. In order to win antitrust approval, Vivendi sold its publishing group Editis, as well as Gala magazine, which was part of Prisma Media. With the acquisition of Lagardère, Vivendi will boast a stronger presence in key markets such as France, the U.K., Spain and the U.S. The listed company is projecting its annual revenues to reach approximately $18 billion (€17 billion) this year, based on 2022 results.
