Vivendi’s purchase of Lagardère approved

The European Commission has approved French media company Vivendi’s acquisition of Hachette parent company Lagardère, reports Publishers Weekly.

Vivendi’s properties include the French book publisher Editis. However, to have its acquisition deal approved, Vivendi will have to divest from Editis, and it has reached a preliminary agreement to sell the publisher to French publishing company International Media Invest (IMI). It will also need to sell the magazine Gala, which it said in a statement has already attracted ‘significant interest’.

Vivendi said it was confident it can finalise the two transactions by the end of October. In its release, Vivendi said the acquisition of Hachette will ‘align with the group’s strategic objective to expand its international presence and will enable it to become the world’s third-largest publisher in the trade and educational markets while also integrating a new and rapidly growing activity, travel retail.’

Following the acquisition, Arnaud Lagardère will continue to serve as Lagardère chairman and CEO. ‘The backing of a large and stable shareholder like Vivendi will allow Lagardère to accelerate its development and provide even more opportunities to its employees around the world,’ Vivendi said. ‘The Lagardère group’s integrity will be preserved.’

Category: International news