After the abandonment of the merger with TF1, the CEO of the German media giant, Thomas Rabe, did not want to risk another setback in France.
By Olivier Ubertalli
© MAGALI COHEN / Hans Lucas via AFP
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“Bmuch ado about nothing,” William Shakespeare would say. “All that for that,” sighs a suitor. After testing the market following the abandonment of the M6-TF1 merger due to opposition from the French antitrust authorities, Bertelsmann has, according to our sources, finally decided not to sell its M6 group subsidiary. Already entangled in the United States in the takeover of the publisher Simon & Schuster, blocked by the authorities, the CEO of the German media giant, Thomas Rabe, did not want to take the risk of a new setback in France. In a press release from RTL Group, which confirms our information, Thomas Rabe mentions “legal risks and uncertainties” and assures: “We will continue to pursue our strategy of building national media groups of sufficient size to compete with American platforms. »
Bertelsmann’s CEO, however, had three interesting offers. That of Xavier Niel, the majority within his association with Silvio Berlusconi’s MediaForEurope group. That of the consortium formed by Stéphane Courbit, majority at around 50%, Rodolphe Saadé, boss of CMA-CGM, and Marc Ladreit de Lacharrière. As for the Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky, who owns the press group CMI France, which publishes Marianne and She, he had also applied, but at a lower price than the other two contenders.
READ ALSOTF1-M6: why the antitrust opposed the merger
The decisive role of Nicolas de Tavernost
The chairman of the M6 group’s management board, Nicolas de Tavernost, seems to have convinced Thomas Rabe to keep M6, just like the warnings from the Competition Authority and Arcom (ex-CSA). He will remain for several more months at the helm of the group which oversees the M6, W9, 6ter, Gulli and Paris Première channels and the RTL, RTL2 and Fun Radio radios. The time, perhaps, to find a new future for the group and to officially enthrone a dolphin capable of continuing its rigorous management, which is a benchmark in Europe (the operating margin reached 27% in the first half of 2022). The name of Guillaume Charles, director general of programs at M6, is cited among the list of possible successors to Nicolas de Tavernost.
Thomas Rabe and Nicolas de Tavernost did not want to start a race against time. The authorization to broadcast M6 on DTT must be renewed in May 2023 by the French public authority for the regulation of audiovisual communication. After this date, the law prohibits any change in frequency control for five years, i.e. until 2028.
Channel 6 throw-in
However, Benoît Coeuré, president of the Competition Authority, had warned that the calendar was “very tense”. For his part, Roch-Olivier Maistre, president of Arcom, had warned: “If an operation were to be carried out on the change of capital (of M6), it would be subject by law to the procedure for approval of the change control by Arcom”, which would lengthen the deadlines for applications for the allocation of the frequency. There is therefore “a countdown which makes things extremely restrictive”.
However, the choice not to sell M6 made by Bertelsmann involves a danger. “At the time of the renewal of the broadcasting authorization in 2023, Bertelsmann may find itself faced with candidates interested in channel 6. the German group retains this channel”, estimates a good connoisseur of the media. Besides Xavier Niel, Silvio Berlusconi (MediaForEurope), Stéphane Courbit, Rodolphe Saadé and Marc Ladreit de Lacharrière, others, such as Patrick Drahi (Altice-SFR) or NRJ, could get into the race. Bertelsmann runs the risk of not having pocketed 1.2 billion euros and of ending up without an M6 license. This new battle will begin in the coming weeks.