Vivendi has started talks to sell celebrity magazine Gala to Groupe Figaro, the French media giant said on Tuesday.
The deal, being pursued via its subsidiary Prisma Media, would remove a regulatory hurdle to Vivendi’s acquisition of publishing giant Lagardere.
The European Commission has made the sale of Gala magazine a condition to approving that deal.
Prisma Media has entered into exclusive negotiations to sell Gala to Groupe Figaro after receiving several offers, Vivendi said.
Figaro is a subsidiary of Dassault Groupe, which also owns Dassault Systemes and Dassault Aviation.
Another condition set by the European Commission for Vivendi’s acquisition of Lagardere is its disposal of the publishing unit Editis, which Vivendi is in the process of selling to Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky’s International Media Invest.
Vivendi, controlled by French billionaire Vincent Bolloré, said on Tuesday that it was confident the Gala sale would be completed by October.
The European Commission will need to approve Groupe Figaro as the purchaser, Vivendi said.
Source: Reuters.com