The Lagardère group wants to accentuate “synergies” with Vivendi, its new owner

Now “in the Bolloré family” after its takeover by Vivendi, the Lagardère group wants to accentuate the “synergies” with its new owner, like the merger between Europe 1 radio and the CNews TV channel, he said. presented this Thursday during its general meeting. “We are now part of the Vivendi family. If I may say this personal word, we are joining the Bolloré family, which I find even more flattering,” said Arnaud Lagardère, CEO of the group and son of its late founder, Jean-Luc.

After a long series, Lagardère was acquired at the end of November by Vivendi, a media giant controlled by conservative billionaire Vincent Bolloré. For the first post-purchase general meeting of shareholders, Arnaud Lagardère said he was “extremely happy with this marriage”: “Perhaps we have less room for maneuver than before, but it is for the good of the company”. “The rigor” of Vivendi “in financial terms (...) will do us a lot of good,” he assured when faced with questions about the group’s debt (2.1 billion euros at the end of 2023) .

According to its manager, Lagardère will rely on the “financial power” of Vivendi to “continue its development”. This involves “industrial synergies”, such as that between Europe 1 and CNews (Canal group, controlled by Vivendi), which have multiple broadcasts in common. CNews is regularly accused by left-wing figures of promoting conservative ideas attributed to Vincent Bolloré. In September, its star, Pascal Praud, joined Europe 1, from RTL. This coincided with a resurgence in radio audiences, after years of freefall.

These synergies are also seen in the Lagardère organization chart, which includes several Vivendi executives, including Canal boss Maxime Saada, appointed vice-president. Likewise, the general meeting validated the entry into the board of directors of Yannick Bolloré, chairman of the supervisory board of Vivendi and son of the billionaire.

“One of Vincent’s greatest successes is his children. I would like people to say that about my father too, we said it a little less often,” joked Arnaud Lagardère, often accused of not having lived up to his predecessor. For the first quarter, its group posted a turnover of nearly 1.9 billion euros, up 12.4% thanks to its stores in train stations and airports. This branch, Lagardère Travel Retail, is driven by the return of global air traffic to its levels before the covid pandemic.

Also read Europe 1, Hachette Livre… The revenge of Arnaud Lagardère

The turnover of the group's publishing activity, Lagardère Publishing, was up slightly by 1.1%, to 576 million euros. In France, the publishing branch recorded a drop in revenue of 4.8%. This is mainly due to the fact that there was no release of a “bestseller” this year comparable to the comic book “Asterix and Obelix: The Middle Kingdom” last year.

In mid-April, the number one French publisher Hachette Livre, which belongs to Lagardère, fired the CEO of Éditions Fayard Isabelle Saporta, due to “strategic differences”. Opponents of Vincent Bolloré saw this as a consequence of Vivendi's takeover of Lagardère. “In the coming weeks, we will make a certain number of announcements on the replacement of Isabelle Saporta,” commented Arnaud Lagardère.

Another current issue: the exclusive negotiations with the French luxury giant LVMH, controlled by billionaire Bernard Arnault, to sell Paris Match to it. They were announced in February. It’s “a bit of a heartbreak” but “it’s an offer that cannot be overlooked,” assured Arnaud Lagardère, without revealing the amount or deadline.

Vivendi plans to split into four entities. In this scenario, Lagardère would join a company bringing together publishing and distribution. In addition, Vivendi is the subject of an investigation by European authorities into a possible anticipated takeover of its target, which will not call into question the acquisition in any case.