Macron and the moguls: In the fight over a 'French Fox News'
17 December, 2020
Behind the corporate battle for French mass media firm Lagardere, there's a political tug-of-war involving the country's richest guy, a press magnate and President Emmanuel Macron.
Behind the corporate battle for French media company Lagardere, there's a political tug-of-war relating to the country's richest man, a mass media magnate and President Emmanuel Macron.
On the line is control of 1 of France's best-known private r / c and its capacity to sway voters ahead of France's presidential election found in 2022, when Macron could face off once more with far-right innovator Marine Le Pen.
Macron fears that if mass media tycoon Vincent Bollore wins Lagardere, he could use its Europe 1 radio to inundate the airwaves with right-wing views and produce the president's re-election bid even tougher, two resources close to the matter said.
Hence when Bollore's Vivendi built a stake in Lagardere in April, Macron's office relayed its considerations to Bernard Arnault, the billionaire founder of high class products empire LVMH and among the president's early on supporters, the resources said.
"The situation has been followed carefully from on high," among the two resources told Reuters.
Weeks after, Arnault stepped in to the fight, backing LEADER Arnaud Lagardere's holding enterprise with cash and pledging his support to the son of the business's late founder Jean-Luc, whom Arnault has got said was his very best friend.
Macron's office and a spokesman for Bollore declined to comment. LVMH did not react to requests for comment on behalf of Arnault.
At that time, Arnault's approach was seen as an attempt to bolster its defences in tandem with Bollore against the Amber Capital hedge fund in London, which includes also built up a stake in Lagardere and campaigned to improve the company's management.
A source acquainted with Arnault's thinking said his attachment to Jean-Luc Lagardere was legitimate, and had prompted him to act when his son sought help fend off Amber Capital.
But the billionaire's move puzzled French business rivals.
FRENCH FOX?
After a career built on a reputation for penny-pinching on deals such as for example LVMH's renegotiated purchase of U.S. jeweller Tiffany, they wondered whether Arnault may have had another motive for ploughing money into Lagardere.
After his initial investment of 80 million euros (US$97 million), Arnault bought a primary stake of 7.75per cent in Lagardere, which will probably be worth 209 million euros now.
Speculation has been developing in French press that there was a good political angle to Arnault's surprise move to invest in a company accumulating losses and debts while the coronavirus pandemic battered it has the global network of airport shops.
Macron's inner circle was worried that through Vivendi, nowadays Lagardere's biggest shareholder, Bollore could consolidate his media assets and build a French version of U.S. conservative media network "Fox Reports", helped by Europe 1, the sources said.
Shortly after Arnault invested in Lagardere, an initial pitch by Bollore to get Europe 1 in June for 250 million euros was rejected by Lagardere's management, a third source said.
Vivendi declined to comment.
The company already owns France's biggest pay-TV company Canal Plus, whose free-to-air news channel CNews has taken a conservative turn since Bollore took control.
Anti-immigration and hardline law-and-order comments created by some of its talk present hosts regularly inflame sociable media and both it is viewership and marketing revenues have jumped.
The network's boss Serge Nedjar has acknowledged that some of its commentators are provocative but said in a recently available interview that the priority of CNews was to host open debates on all issues and there was no political line.
Lagardere's Europe 1 station possesses struggled with losses and falling audience numbers but possesses kept a following among urban, educated and more conservative-leaning listeners.
'NO MORAL BARRIER'
While Lagardere's arcane ownership composition gives its leader the right to veto significant decisions despite holding only 7per cent of the business, analysts nonetheless expect its key investors to attempt to pick up bits of the business enterprise.
Vivendi now keeps a 27per cent stake and has teamed up with Amber on 20per cent to force for board changes. Possibly Qatar's sovereign wealth fund, Lagardere's long-silent third most significant investor with 13per cent, has needed good representation for all shareholders.
The techniques have put pressure on Lagardere's management to manage the problem, especially the billionaire dealmakers, while Amber Capital has preserved its campaign for an overhaul to operate a vehicle an improved share price performance.
Four sources close to the problem said discussions over how parts of Lagardere could possibly be spun off had started in recent weeks. One explained that Arnault and Bollore acquired met in person.
The two haven't been direct business rivals, and so are not especially close, but neither is considering an all-out war over Lagardere, people who know them said.
Bollore may be content to pick up elements of Lagardere's publishing division, residence to Hachette, or consent to cede some mass media assets regardless if he launched a complete takeover, an option that could unblock the complex saga, people near the talks said.
Such scenarios were even so speculative, the people said.
Letting Arnault take Lagardere's media outlets, such as the Paris Match every week and Sunday newspaper Journal du Dimanche, however, can pose challenges. The billionaire already controls personal daily Les Echos and newspaper Le Parisien.
Lagardere as well owns a travel retail business, however the sector has been hit really difficult just as the pandemic has pummelled the travel sector, and Arnault is experiencing similar problems within LVMH, which owns duty-free retail chain DFS.
But for those arranging Macron's re-election plan, keeping Europe 1 away from Bollore is a priority, especially given the developing attractiveness of CNews and its own right-leaning commentators.
Its viewership doubled found in October from last year and while it even now trails France's market innovator BFM, it's before TF1's LCI media channel - and its own transformation is not simply alarming those found in the corridors of ability.
"The general thought is: in the name of freedom of expression, any right-wing person is welcome. There is no moral barrier," explained Sebastien Cochelin, a CFDT union representative for Canal Plus. "We're using fire."
Source: www.channelnewsasia.com