Only the Czech businessman remains in the race. Nicolas Beytout announced, Thursday June 13, “entered into exclusive negotiations” to open the capital of its Bey Médias group (Opinion, L’Agefi) to billionaire Daniel Kretinsky and his media subsidiary CMI France (She, Franc-Stireur, The backpacker, TV 7 days, B Smart, Mariannecurrently being sold). “The quality of his experience as a media shareholder guarantees Opinion and to L’Agefi to be able to maintain their editorial line and continue their work of developing reference media”assured Mr. Beytout in a press release.
This agreement provides for CMI France to take 49% of the holding company of the French press boss and largest shareholder of its group, according to the Bey Médias press release. “This fits perfectly with our mission which is to support independent and rigorous journalism, in the service of pluralism and freedom”assured Denis Olivennes, president of CMI France, in the same press release.
Opinion, launched in 2013 by Nicolas Beytout, to defend a resolutely liberal and pro-European line, is in chronic deficit. Negotiations for refinancialization had begun with Daniel Kretinsky as well as his competitor Rodolphe Saadé (CMA CGM and owner of the newspaper Provence) last summer, according to the media The letter. In 2019, Bey Médias was bought from Artémis, the personal holding company of François Pinault.
Daniel Kretinsky is also a candidate for one of the fifteen digital terrestrial television (DTT) frequencies up for grabs this year in France.