EU Watchdogs Approve Vivendi, Lagardere Deal

Vivendi, a French media conglomerate owned by Vincent Bollore, received conditional approval from EU antitrust regulators for its purchase of Lagardere, the largest publisher in France, on Friday.

According to Reuters, Vivendi announced a deal last year that would provide it with control over Lagardere’s top weekly publications – Journal du Dimanche (JDD) and Paris Match.

The European Commission, responsible for enforcing competition rules in the EU, announced that Vivendi has agreed to sell its publishing unit Editis and celebrity magazine Gala as a measure to address regulatory concerns regarding the deal.

Read more: EU Ups Vivendi-Lagardere Antitrust Probe

According to a statement by Vivendi, the finalization of the two transactions is expected to be completed by the end of October.

“We need to make sure that the book publishing and press markets remain competitive and diversified, to foster a plurality of ideas and opinions,” EU commissioner Margrethe Vestager said in a statement.

“The remedies proposed by Vivendi will allow for the preservation of existing competition in those markets, to the benefit of consumers.”

In April, Vivendi agreed to sell Editis to a company owned by Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky. Kretinsky also has ownership stakes in France’s Le Monde newspaper, supermarket company Casino, and TV group TF1.

Vivendi’s supervisory board chairman Yannick Bollore stated that the European Commission’s decision is favorable for the company to achieve their development plan with Lagardere group.