European Commission opens competition inquiry into Vivendi’s takeover of Lagardère

The European Commission announced late on Wednesday (30th November) that it had opened an in-depth inquiry into the proposed takeover of France’s Lagardère group by Vivendi. 

The Commission’s competition division set a deadline of 30th November to authorise, reject or look further into the acquisition of the parent company of Hachette Livre, the largest French book publisher, by the owner of Editis, its closest rival. Vivendi notified the Commission of the transaction on 24th October.

To avoid anti-trust complications on the book market, Vivendi said in July that it would try to sell Editis through a distribution of shares and stock market listing. But the Commission said in its inquiry statement that the group had “decided not to submit commitments to address the Commission’s preliminary concerns during the initial investigation.”

The Commission has until 19th April next year to make up its mind about the deal and whether it would “reduce competition on a number of markets across the entire book value chain in French-speaking countries of the European Economic Area (EEA) and in a segment of magazine publishing in France.”

Specifically, the Commission is worried about reduced competition for French-language books’ rights, distribution and marketing, and sales to retailers.

Without shedding some book publishing assets, the deal “could reduce choice and lead to higher prices, less accessibility and lower quality for readers of French-language books and of certain French magazines,” said European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager.

Press reports suggest that Vivendi should name one or several potential buyers of Editis by the end of the year.

French publishers and authors have expressed concerns both over the takeover and over a sale of Editis.