The acquisition of Altice Media (BFMTV and RMC) by the shipping company CMA CGM is finalized

The acquisition of Altice Media, parent company of the television channel BFMTV and the radio station RMC, by the shipping company CMA CGM was finalized on Tuesday, the latter announced in a press release.

Announced in mid-March to general surprise, this acquisition from the Altice group of businessman Patrick Drahi received the green light on Friday from the audiovisual regulator, Arcom, and the Competition Authority.

“After receiving approval from the relevant regulatory authorities, and following the announcement of March 15, the CMA CGM Group and Merit France (family holding company of the CMA CGM Group) have today finalized the acquisition of 100% of the capital of Altice Media,” CMA CGM said.

Led by billionaire Rodolphe Saadé, the Marseille-based shipowner indicated on March 15 that the transaction would be finalized “during the summer”, for an amount of 1.55 billion euros.

With this acquisition, Rodolphe Saadé and CMA CGM are adding a major stone to the media empire they are building, just two years after setting foot in the sector.

During this period, the Franco-Lebanese billionaire acquired the newspaper La Tribune and the La Provence group (regional dailies La Provence and Corse Matin), in addition to holdings in M6 and the online video media Brut.

In mid-May, CMA CGM recruited a great captain for its empire by bringing in the outgoing boss of M6, Nicolas de Tavernost, as vice-president of its new holding company CMA Médias.

Altice Media, which was called NextRadioTV until 2021, was gradually sold to Patrick Drahi by Alain Weill from 2015. The group includes the news channel BFMTV, the radio RMC and the TNT channels RMC Découverte and RMC Story.

© 2024 AFP

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