Nicolas de Tavernost, chairman of the management board of M6, announced yesterday that the planned merger between the channel and TF1 could never take place. Indeed, the Autorité de la concurrence considers that the latter raises several problems. Result: the project would no longer be viable for the two television giants.
On May 17, 2021, TF1 created a surprise by buying 30% of the shares of M6 for the modest sum of 641 million euros. Eventually, the two television channels plan to merge, and therefore submit their project to the Competition Authority (ADLC) for validation. Since then, the said project has stalled. We had to wait yesterday, during the presentation of the quarterly results of M6, to have any news.
Nicolas de Tavernost, predicted by the channel’s executive board, announces that the ADLC considers that the merger “raises significant competition concerns “. Thus, the organization advocated several changes that upset the situation. If the latter prove to be compulsory, M6 and TF1 have made it known that they will definitively abandon the merger. The two groups have three weeks to submit their response to the ADLC.
Will TF1 and M6 abandon the merger project?
The challenge now is whether this merger remains profitable. “The merger is made to strengthen each other “, explains Nicolas de Tavernost. “She is not made to weaken. We already have strong constraints with the transfer of television channels which is imposed on us by law in the event of a merger between TF1 and M6”.As a reminder, the merger is supposed to bring between 250 and 350 million euros to the two chains.
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If this is not the case, “we will not merge TF1 and M6”,concludes Nicolas de Tavernost. A statement that has not gone unnoticed by investors. This morning, TF1 lost 4% on the stock market, while M6 fell 7%. The two groups will again pass the ADLC on September 5 and 6. The final answer should be delivered during the month of October 2022.
Source: Les Echos