To validate Vivendi’s takeover bid for Lagardère, the European Commission had imposed a condition on Vincent Bolloré’s group. To avoid harming pluralism, he should not have too many celebrity titles. Vivendi will therefore sell “Gala” to the Le Figaro group, the Commission has just given the green light.
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Nothing now stands in the way of Vivendi taking control of Lagardère. The last obstacle posed by the European Commission was removed at the end of October: it authorized the sale of the magazine Gala to the Le Figaro group. The process is therefore almost complete.
Negotiations still need to be concluded between the owner of GalaPrisma Media, a subsidiary of Vivendi, and Le Figaro. The seller is confident, he mentions a finalization before the end of November. The hardest part seems to be done because the potential buyer is extremely motivated to take over the celebrity weekly.
This is explained since Gala is a gem, one of the rare profitable magazines with 32 million euros in turnover and around ten million euros in operating margin. Certainly, its sales are falling on newsstands with 123,000 copies, a 5.5% drop in one year, but its site is working well with 41 million visits in October. Gala is especially very successful on social networks, for example it has 9.5 million subscribers on TikTok, a platform used by young people. It is therefore a very beautiful brand that Prisma Media sees leaving with a lot of regret.
Three celebrity press titles were too many for the Commission
However, the group separates, they have no choice. This is a condition set by Brussels to validate Vivendi’s public purchase offer (OPA) for Lagardère. Without this, Vincent Bolloré’s company would have owned too many celebrity titles. She therefore Gala but also Here is while Lagardère owns Paris Match. Having these three titles was to constitute an ultra dominant position on the same theme. The Commission feared that this would harm the quality and pluralism of these publications, the price of which would otherwise have soared. Vivendi then preferred Here is And Paris Matchmore powerful than Gala in paper version.
Concerning the future of journalists Gala, all this is being decided in the negotiation. The entire editorial team, around sixty people, is supposed to be transferred to the Le Figaro group, at least for those employees who wish it. They will also have the possibility of taking the transfer clause which allows them to leave with compensation when a media outlet changes ownership. The amount of the transaction is obviously at the heart of the discussions. According to our information, it would be between 60 and 80 million euros. The Le Figaro group would thus strengthen its magazine offering, particularly aimed at a female audience. He has already Madame Figaro and the website The Women’s Journal.