Daniel Křetínský in deal to acquire Editis from Vivendi

Canal+-owner Vivendi has signed an agreement with the International Media Invest (IMI) group, a CMI group subsidiary founded by Czech media tycoon Daniel Křetínský, for the sale of 100% of the share capital of publishing subsidiary Editis.

Daniel Kretinsky

The sale of Editis was one of the two conditions set by the EC for approval of Vivendi’s acquisition of Lagardère. Editis and and Lagardère-owned Hachette are respectively the number one and two players in book publishing in France.

Vivendi said that, following the conditional authorization given by the EC to complete the transaction with the Lagardère group, IMI will need to be approved by the Commission as a suitable purchaser.

The transaction remains subject to IMI obtaining the required merger control clearances in the relevant jurisdictions, and completion is expected by early October 2023 at the latest.

As well as helping clear the way for the Vivendi-Lagardère acquisition, the deal highlights the growing involvement of Křetínský in French media at all levels.

This week the Czech billionaire took a 45% stake in French social video media outfit Loopsider via CMI France.

Loopsider has developed two offerings – the eponymous Loopsider and female-focused Period – that are distributed via social media.

Some seven million users tune in to Loopsider’s videos daily, amounting to 150 million views per month.

CMI France is a major publishing group, with properties including Art & Décoration, City Magazine, Elle, Elle à table, Elle Décoration, Franc-Tireur, France Dimanche, Ici Paris, Le Journal d’Ines, Le Routard Magazine, Marianne, Public, S, Le Magazine de Sophie Davant, Télé 7 jours, Télé 7 jours jeux, Télé 7 jeux, Usbek & Rica and Version Femina.

Křetínský’s Czech Media Invest recently sold down a stake in ProSiebenSat.1 shortly before a closely allied investor, Renáta Kellnerová’s PPF Group, took a stake in the German broadcaster.

Last year Křetínský was also named as a possible buyer for French broadcaster M6 Group following the abandonment of if its merger with TF1.