CEO of French publisher Lagardere to resign from executive roles due to court indictment (updated)
30/04/2024 08:30
(Adds details and background)
PARIS, April 30 (Reuters) - Arnaud Lagardere, the
chairman and CEO of French publishing group Lagardere SA
LAGA.PA , will have to resign from his executive roles as a
result of an earlier court indictment against which he will
appeal, the company said on Tuesday.
"This indictment essentially concerns facts relating to
personal companies wholly owned by Arnaud Lagardere and not
involving any Lagardère group companies," it said.
"In the context of his indictment, Arnaud Lagardere has been
provisionally banned from holding executive office, a measure
which he is contesting and against which he intends to appeal,
but which nevertheless will oblige him to resign his executive
offices within the group, despite the appeal," it added.
The indictment made by a French court on Monday accused
Arnaud Lagardere of misappropriating company funds for his own
personal expenses. Lagardere said Arnaud Lagardere denied the
allegations and would appeal the ruling.
Arnaud Lagardere's late father, Jean-Luc, built up the
company into a conglomerate spanning media and defence
activities during the 1980s, before Arnaud Lagardere then
slimmed it back down to focus on publishing and duty free shops.
Media giant Vivendi VIV.PA ended up buying a 59.7% stake
in Lagardere, while in February Lagardere said it was in talks
to sell Paris Match magazine to luxury goods giant LVMH
LVMH.PA .
(Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Kirsten Donovan and
Susan Fenton)
((sudip.kargupta@thomsonreuters.com;))