2023-07-25 20:16:16
The suspicions seem to be confirmed. The European Commission announced Tuesday the opening of a formal investigation into a possible early takeover of Lagardère by Vivendi in violation of European Union rules.
On June 9, the Commission authorized Vivendi, the group of billionaire Vincent Bolloré, to absorb its former rival Lagardère, on condition that it sell its publishing subsidiary and the magazine Gala. If it turns out that the operation was implemented before this green light, Brussels could impose a fine on Vivendi of up to 10% of its total turnover.
The EU “requires companies to notify operations with a European dimension and to wait for our authorization before carrying them out. In addition, companies must respect the commitments they submit to us, on the basis of which we authorize an operation, “said the Commissioner for Competition, Margrethe Vestager, quoted in a press release.
“Enough items” collected
“At this stage, the Commission has collected enough elements to open a formal investigation procedure aimed at determining whether Vivendi has complied with our procedures,” she added. A spokeswoman for the EU executive had already announced in mid-June that she was looking into a possible breach of the rules, but the suspicions are now being formally investigated.
The NGO Reporters Without Borders (RSF) had called for such an investigation. “Given the many signals attesting to Vincent Bolloré’s growing hold on the Lagardère group’s media even before the validation of the takeover, it is surprising that an investigation for an early takeover was not launched earlier,” RSF secretary general Christophe Deloire said at the time. The NGO had pointed out “the significant changes that have taken place, particularly in the editorial staff of the Journal du Dimanche (JDD) and even more significantly at Paris Match”.
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