The Bayard press and publishing group (La Croix, Notre Temps, Pèlerin, Okapi …) announced on Friday the sale of its stakes in publications from Northern Europe to the Belgian group Roularta Media Group to focus on its development in France in the senior press. “Bayard thus cedes to the Belgian media group its stakes in the companies Senior Publications Nederland (SPN) in the Netherlands, Télépro in Belgium and Bayard Media in Germany”, indicates the group in a press release. In addition, the two groups “have taken the decision to terminate their partnership in Northern Europe” in a “general context of concentration of their Senior Press activities on their respective national markets”.
The French group, controlled by the Catholic Congregation of the Augustins of the Assumption, recorded a net loss of 7.3 million euros over 2019-2020, under the double effect of the health crisis and the bankruptcy of Presstalis. This sale “is part of an important development plan for the senior public in France, a population in full demographic development and whose expectations are changing sharply”, justifies Bayard. To do this, the French press group relies on its monthly Notre temps and on studies by its think tank Club Landoy. “This growth strategy will be driven both by organic investments and by key acquisitions,” he assures us. The Bayard group, which publishes the daily La Croix, the weekly Le Pèlerin and youth press titles such as Pomme d’Api or J’aime lire, claims five million subscribers.
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