French media group Vivendi intends to launch a takeover bid for rival Lagardere SA, if regulators approve the takeover of Amber Capital’s stake in Lagardere, a deal that would give rise to one of the largest media companies in Europe , informs Bloomberg, quoted by Agerpres.
According to a statement issued on Wednesday, Vivendi reached an agreement to take over the 25.3 million shares held by Amber Capital in Lagardere, the owner of assets such as Paris Match magazine and Europe 1 radio station, at a price of 24.10 euros for each action.
Thanks to this transaction, Vivendi’s stake in Lagardere will increase by 30%, which means that under French law it will have to bid for the remaining shares. A Vivendi spokesman said the group expects regulators to see the benefits of a combination of the two media companies and plans to launch a bid after the deal with Amber Capital is approved.
Vivendi’s € 610 million bid for shares held by Amber Capital values Lagardere at € 3.4 billion. If this offer is approved by the regulators, Vivendi will hold 45% of Lagardere’s capital and 36% of the voting rights.
In a statement, the Lagardere group said it was “delighted” by Vivendi’s plans to take over the shares held by Amber Capital, adding that its board would express its opinion on a possible takeover offer at the right time.
“This transaction confirms the respect for the integrity of the Lagardere group and the support provided to its management team,” the company said.
Lately, Vivendi has expanded its media operations, following the takeover of the French publishing assets of the German group Bertelsmann SE and a 9.9% stake in Prisa, the owner of the Spanish daily El Pais. Vivendi has the necessary financial resources to be able to continue making acquisitions in the conditions in which the separation operation from the Universal Music Group division, valued at 35 billion euros, would start next week.
The Lagardere Group entered Romania in 1996, through the acquisition of Radio Total Timişoara, later renamed Radio 21 Timişoara. In 1998, the group relaunched the Radio 21 network, and in 1999 obtained the license for the first national commercial radio network, Europa FM, which began broadcasting in 2000. In 2007, Lagardere acquired the Deea radio network, some of the licenses were used for the launch, in April 2008, of the Vibe FM network.
In April 2018, Lagardere announced the sale of radio stations from Eastern Europe (Romania, Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia) to the Czech Media Invest group, with the amount of 73 million euros. In Romania, the Czech group bought Radio Europa FM and Virgin Radio.
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