(AOF) – CMA CGM has crossed the threshold of 5% of the capital and voting rights of the audiovisual group M6, according to a notice published by the Financial Markets Authority (AMF). As of December 9, 2022, the maritime transport and logistics group held 5.02% of the capital and voting rights of M6. For the shipowner, this threshold crossing results from the acquisition of shares of the television group on the market. The shipping and logistics group
“We still hold 48.3% of the capital of the M6 group and we still remain the controlling shareholder. Nothing will change in the years to come,” said the German group Bertelsmann, parent company of M6.
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Key points
– Second French television group with 14.3% audience share and first private radio group with 18.2% audience share;
– Turnover of €1.39 billion, 81% of which comes from advertising, the rest from radio (RTL, Fun Radio brands) and digital services (Cuisine AZ, Turbo sites);
– Business model aiming at the complementarity and transversality of activities throughout the value chain via the production of content, the diversification of offers (TV channels -M6, W9, 6ter, Téva, Gulli, Paris Première- and radios – RTL, RTL2 and Fun Radio), digitization and acquisitions;
– Capital held 48.26% by RTL Group and 5.05% by CNP, Nicolas de Tavernost leading the management board and Elmar Heggen the nine-member supervisory board;
– Very healthy balance sheet with shareholders’ equity of €1.1 billion, cash of €163 million and almost zero net debt.
Challenges
– Strategy to gain market share in TV and radio and prepare for the future through targeted holdings in non-consolidated assets – Streaming with Bedrock, digital marketing with GSG, Salto;
– Innovation and digital transformation strategy defined in the OPEN program: watch, “Campus innovation” for training, Lab Innov for internal experimentation;
– Environmental response strategy to 2 challenges – reduction of environmental impact and public awareness:
– ongoing construction of a low carbon plan for the group,
– circular economy, digital sobriety and strict management of electricity;
– Simplification of the portfolio and refocusing on M6 Digital services, M6 Créations, M6 Interactions and Best of TV;
– Continued gains in viewers, particularly 25-49 year olds (22.8% audience share) and in the early evening.
Challenges
– Highly regulated sector with limits to redeployments and external growth;
– Impact of the entry of new players – Apple TV, Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, and, in 2024, the new HBO / Discovery platform: increase in the price of programs and gains in advertising market share;
– After the abandonment of the merger project with TF1 due to requirements deemed too high by the Competition Authority and then attempts to sell its stake, questions about the group’s future strategy;
– Challenges for 2022 after a 3% increase in revenue and a 22.4% decline in net profit in the 1st half: supporting the advertising recovery, developing the segmented TV offer, non-linear offers -6play and Salto-, the production of fiction and strengthen internal synergies;
– 2021 dividend of €1.
Sector analysis Communication and Media
French players well positioned in audiovisual production
Among the independent players, the Frenchman Banijay is the world leader with an expected turnover of 3 billion euros in 2022 in a market which represents 100 billion in revenue. Mediawan (backed by the KKR fund), whose turnover amounts to 1 billion euros, is the other main French player in the sector. The market is still very fragmented because according to the European Audiovisual Observatory, the top twenty production groups were responsible for only 38% of titles created in 2020. However, experts believe that the sector has entered a phase consolidation. Thus Banijay’s stock market listing aims to enable it to better participate in this movement.