2024-02-27 18:42:00
IHe wanted it badly, he got it. Bernard Arnault will finally seize Paris Match, the weekly magazine of the Lagardère-Vivendi group. The LVMH group, which he heads, has entered into exclusive negotiations with Lagardère, announced Arnaud Lagardère while presenting the company’s financial results for 2023. According to our information, the offer would be around a hundred million euros for the weekly which achieved a turnover of 52 million euros last year.
Still according to our information, the discussions took place at a very high level for several weeks, which avoided leaks to the press. The Arnault and Bolloré families even took advantage of their last summer vacation in Saint-Tropez to talk informally about the future of Match. Bernard Arnault and his son Antoine have increased their discussions with Vincent Bolloré and his two sons, Yannick and Cyrille. Arnaud Lagardère was also part of the restricted circle of insiders.
Since his entry in 2020 into the capital of the Lagardère group, of which he now holds 7.7% of the capital, Bernard Arnault, who helped Arnaud Lagardère to resolve his debt problems, has never hidden his interest in the magazine . For the CEO of the luxury group LVMH, Paris Match is “a piece of France”, a “flagship” and a premium brand. The entrepreneur was born the month the first issue of the weekly came out: in March 1949. A sign of destiny in his eyes.
Des synergies Vivendi-Match
However, with the rise of Vivendi in Lagardère’s capital and then its takeover, the prospect that Match falling into the hands of LVMH seemed to be moving away. Some directors of the Lagardère group, notably the former President of the Republic Nicolas Sarkozy, did not view favorably the exit of the magazine from the Lagardère group, which also owns The Sunday Journal and radios Europe 1, Europe 2 and RFM.
Especially since the synergies with the Vivendi galaxy (Canal+, CNews, C8, etc.) have continued to grow in recent months. Some examples: journalists from Paris Match participate in the Europe 1 political show on Fridays in the early evening. Jérôme Béglé, general director of Paris Match, is a columnist on the CNews channel. Laurence Ferrari heads the political department of the weekly while having his own show Punchline on Europe 1 and CNews. CNews political journalist, Florian Tardif also writes for the weekly.
A work of “perseverance”
Despite Vivendi’s influence over Match, Bernard Arnault maintained his interest in “the French family album”. Discreetly. Antoine Arnault, passionate about the media and working for the family, and Yannick Bolloré discussed. Alexandre Arnault participated in a few meetings. “It’s a long-term job,” comments a source close to the negotiations. “There is perseverance and patience on the part of Bernard Arnault,” comments another good observer.
An important detail: it is indeed LVMH and not the Les Échos-Le Parisien group which is negotiating the takeover of Paris Match. There is therefore no question yet of uniting the magazine with the two national dailies. Buoyed by its numerous celebrity covers in an anxiety-provoking climate with the wars in Ukraine and Israel, Paris Match has been better for a few months.
Its sales per issue increased by 9.3% in October, 9.4% in November, 6.1% in December and even 12.6% in January, notably thanks to the two issues on Alain Delon which exceeded 100,000 exemplary. The acquisition of the magazine should be finalized by the summer, after consultation with staff representative bodies.
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