EU Clears Vivendi’s Acquisition of Lagardère with Conditions

The European Commission has announced its approval of French media group Vivendi’s complete acquisition of Lagardère, a French publishing and retail conglomerate, subject to certain conditions.

The clearance is contingent on Vivendi divesting its Editis publishing business, which competes with Lagardère’s Hachette unit, and its Gala celebrity magazine, which rivals Lagardère’s Paris Match. These conditions were set to address the competition concerns identified by the Commission after conducting an in-depth investigation.

The Commission stated that the divested units, Editis and Gala, constitute viable businesses that would enable a potential buyer to effectively compete with the merged entity. To ensure compliance with Vivendi’s commitments to sell these units, an independent trustee will be appointed to monitor the process. The acquisition of Lagardère by Vivendi can only proceed once the Commission approves a suitable purchaser for the divested assets.

Lagardère, in addition to Hachette and Paris Match, owns the Relay chain of airport and railway station newsagents, France’s Europe 1 radio station, and other media outlets. Vivendi, on the other hand, has a range of assets in movie and TV production, including the Canal+ network, as well as publishing and advertising. Vivendi’s owner, billionaire Vincent Bolloré, increased the company’s stake in Lagardère to 57% last year after a contentious shareholder battle. The divestment of Editis and Gala by Vivendi was anticipated well before receiving the European Commission’s approval.

“Vivendi and Lagardère are leading publishers of 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. The remedies proposed by Vivendi will allow for the preservation of existing competition in those markets, to the benefit of consumers”. Margrethe Vestager, Executive Vice-President in charge of competition policy.

Margrethe Vestager, emphasized the importance of Vivendi’s divestment commitments in preserving competition in the market for French-language books and magazines. She stressed the need to maintain a competitive and diverse publishing and press market to foster a plurality of ideas and opinions. Vestager expressed confidence that the remedies proposed by Vivendi would safeguard existing competition and benefit consumers.

The European Commission’s decision followed an extensive investigation that involved gathering information and feedback from various market participants, including authors, editors, book retailers, and readers. Initially, the Commission had concerns that the transaction would harm competition in book publishing, particularly in the acquisition of authors’ rights for French-language books and the distribution, marketing, and sales of French-language books to retailers. It also identified potential harm to competition in the press magazines sector, specifically regarding Paris Match and Gala, which are closely competing publications.

The Commission’s approval is conditional upon Vivendi’s full compliance with the commitments. The suitability of the proposed buyers will be assessed separately by the Commission in a buyer approval procedure. Throughout the in-depth investigation, the Commission collaborated closely with competition and regulatory authorities, such as the French Regulatory Authority for Audiovisual and Digital Communication (ARCOM) and the French Financial Markets Authority (AMF).

The merger between Vivendi and Lagardère was initially notified to the Commission in October 2022, triggering the in-depth investigation in November 2022. The majority of notified mergers are cleared after a routine review within 25 working days, while more complex cases like this one proceed to Phase II, involving an in-depth investigation.

The EU Commission’s approval, with conditions, paves the way for Vivendi to proceed with the acquisition of Lagardère, marking a significant development in the media and publishing landscape in France.