Vivendi enters into put option agreement to sell Editis to Kretinsky's IMI (updated)

Television Francaise 1 SA

24/04/2023 07:45

(Updates with context and Q1 revenue)
       April 24 (Reuters) - French media group Vivendi  VIV.PA 
on Monday said it has entered into a put option agreement with
International Media Invest (IMI), a subsidiary of Czech Media
Invest (CMI), for the sale of publishing business Editis.
    Vivendi, which is set to win EU antitrust approval to buy
Lagardere  LAGA.PA  after its offer to sell Editis and celebrity
magazine Gala addressed competition concerns, said in March that
it was in talks over the sale of Editis with IMI, founded by
billionaire businessman Daniel Kretinsky.
    Kretinsky, which has built up one of Europe's biggest energy
companies over the last decade, has stakes in Le Monde
newspaper, supermarket company Casino  CASP.PA  and TV group TF1
 TFFP.PA .
    Kretinsky has also proposed a capital increase at Casino to
which it would subscribe under a plan that could lead to a
change of control at the retailer, Casino said earlier.
    CMI, the company he co-founded and now heads, is the leading
media group in the Czech Republic which publishes four daily
newspapers, a number of magazines, and has an extensive digital
and radio presence in the country. 
    "Concerning the combination between Vivendi and Lagardère,
we have submitted proposed remedies to the European Commission
and are now awaiting its decision, which is expected in mid-June
2023", Vivendi said in a statement.
    In a separate statement, IMI stated that the "acquisition of
Editis reinforces CMI's development strategy in content
industry, while at the same respecting the cultural exception of
the company's activities."
    Vivendi reported higher first-quarter revenue, citing growth
across all company's businesses, in particular at Canal+ Group. 
    The Paris-based company, whose top investor is billionaire
Vincent Bollore, reported a 3.1% increase in revenues at
constant currency to 2.29 billion euros ($2.51 billion) in the
first three months of 2023, which compares with 2.22 billion
euros a year ago. 
    The group's first-quarter results are below JPM's forecast
of revenue of 2.30 billion euros and Barclay's estimate of 2.28
billion euros.
    


($1 = 0.9108 euros)

 (Reporting by Laura Lenkiewicz and Diana Mandiá; Editing by
Christopher Cushing and Louise Heavens)
 ((diana.mandiaalvarez@thomsonreuters.com;
laura.lenkiewicz@thomsonreuters.com))