Vivendi launches its takeover bid to take control of Lagardère – Le Monde

Vivendi logo at the company’s headquarters in Paris. CHARLES PLATIAU / REUTERS It is Thursday, April 14 that Vincent Bolloré, at the helm of the French group Vivendi, must launch the takeover bid (OPA) to take control of Lagardère. Vivendi entered the capital of the owner of Europe 1, Journal du Dimanche (JDD) and Paris Match in the spring of 2020, then weakened by the Covid-19 crisis (in particular in its network of stores in train stations and airports) and threatened by a shareholder revolt. Media heavyweight, owner of Canal+ but also of Editis and Havas, Vivendi was able to join forces with the activist fund Amber Capital to obtain a transformation of the impregnable Lagardère citadel into an ordinary and above all “operable” public limited company. Read also: Article reserved for our subscribers The group committee highlights the gray areas of Vivendi’s takeover bid for Lagardère After leading the battle, Arnaud Lagardère, at the head of the industrial and media empire built by his father, Jean -Luc, who died in 2003, had to resolve to welcome “the Vivendi group and the Bolloré family, a guarantee of stability and support for our culture, our strategy and our integrity over the long term”, he wrote recently to its shareholders. The latter will be able, from April 14 to May 20, to sell their shares to Vivendi at 25.50 euros per share (including the dividend of 50 cents proposed by Lagardère for the 2021 financial year). This draft offer was validated on Tuesday by the Financial Markets Authority (AMF), which declared it “compliant”. Today owner of 45% of Lagardère shares, the group of Vincent Bolloré, which has a large cash after the sale of Universal, wishes at this price to become the majority. But he has also imagined a subsidiary offer mechanism, which allows him to acquire any remaining shares at a price of 24.10 euros until December 15, 2023. Arnaud Lagardère comforted Faced with heavy personal debt, Arnaud Lagardère, who obtained to remain Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) until 2027, has, on the other hand, already announced its intention to tender its 15.6 million shares (i.e. 11% of the capital) to the subsidiary offer and to immediately pledge the transfer rights obtained as security for new financing. The manager thus opens the way to a sale of his shares, without waiting for the completion of the operation, which remains suspended for the green light of the European competition authorities. Read also: Article reserved for our subscribers Arnaud Lagardère paves the way for a sale of his titles The merger between Hachette and Editis, the two leaders in publishing in France, would indeed result in an ultra-dominant position for this new entity in the sector , that Vincent Bolloré himself had recognized before senators, declaring that the marriage “would not happen without measures being taken in France”, in particular the sale of publishing houses. In terms of the media, radio Europe 1 is already well anchored to the conservative news channel CNews, with which it shares a number of hosts. The official integration of the station will however have to obtain the approval of Arcom (ex-CSA). As for the magazine Paris Match and the weekly Le JDD, very influential in the political world, they seem destined to be integrated by Vivendi into the press group Prisma Media, and in recent months have seen several leaders being sacked or retiring. Read also: Article reserved for our subscribers In the “Journal du dimanche”, the concern of a “bollorisation” rises in the editorial staff Vivendi’s eagerness to integrate Lagardère can be explained by the will of Vincent Bolloré, who celebrated his 70th birthday on April 1, to cede power to his children. A transition for which points remain to be settled but whose contours seem to be taking shape: the bank Oddo BHF thus expects that the next project of the Bolloré group – with deep pockets after the sale for nearly 6 billion euros of its African logistics activities – or to become a majority shareholder of Vivendi, of which it now owns 29.5%. In doing so, Vincent Bolloré would strongly secure his new media empire, before passing it on. Le Monde and AFP