PARIS (Reuters) -Vivendi said on Wednesday it was set to purchase another stake in Paris Match magazine owner Lagardere, paving the way for a full takeover which would extend the influence of its controlling shareholder, Vincent Bollore, over France's media landscape.
Canal+ owner Vivendi , which already has 27% of Lagardere, said it had agreed to buy Amber Capital's 17.9% holding, for 24.10 euros per share or around 610 million euros ($720.3 million).
It said it would later launch a full bid for Lagardere at the same price, once it has passed the 30% threshold requiring companies in France to make a takeover offer. That would value Lagardere at around 3.4 billion euros, compared to its 2.7 billion euros market capitalisation at Wednesday's close.
If successful, the acquisition of Lagardere will mark the end of what was once one of France's national industrial champions, which under its late founder used to have large stakes in companies like plane maker Airbus.
Heir and Chief Executive Arnaud Lagardere has sold off parts of the conglomerate bit by bit. Last year he brought in investors like Vivendi and luxury goods tycoon Bernard Arnault when he was trying to fend off an activist campaign by Amber.
As well as travel retail operations and a publishing business, which includes the Hachette label, it still has influential media assets which Bollore and Arnault have lusted after, sources close to the matter have said previously.
These include Paris Match, the Journal du...
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