Vivendi to Launch Takeover Bid for Hachette Owner Lagardère

A successful takeover of Lagardère, which as well as the publisher of popular authors such as David Baldacci and Malcolm Gladwell also owns French radio stations and duty-free stores, would bring to an end a lengthy battle involving some of Europe’s best-known billionaires.

Vivendi, controlled by Vincent Bolloré, bought a 10.6% stake in Lagardère in the spring, and soon after helped the company’s Chief Executive Arnaud Lagardère defeat Amber’s push for a board overhaul.

However, seeking to protect himself from a takeover by Mr. Bolloré, who was eyeing his media assets, Mr. Lagardère asked another billionaire, Bernard Arnault —the founder of luxury-goods giant LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE —to invest in the entity that had control over Lagardère.

The move initially protected Lagardère, but prompted Mr. Bolloré to forge an alliance with Amber, which agreed to sell its stake to Vivendi in September.

Vivendi said Thursday it would propose a tender offer for all Lagardère shares at €24.10 per share, the same price it agreed to pay to Amber, by February. The company added that it doesn’t intend to force minority shareholders to sell their stock. The deal would value all of Lagardère’s stock at about €3.4 billion, equivalent to $3.85 billion.

Lagardère’s shares rose 4.4% in morning trading in Paris, hitting the offer price of €24.10.

Taking control of Lagardère would add considerably to the influence that Mr. Bolloré wields over French media. Through his holding company, Mr. Bolloré controls Vivendi, which owns France’s largest pay-TV group Canal Plus as well as CNews, the 24-hour news channel that helped propel the nationalist French talk-show host and pundit Éric Zemmour to a presidential run.

Vivendi recently bolstered its coffers by spinning off Universal Music Group NV, the music giant behind stars including Taylor Swift, Drake and the Beatles.

Lagardère media outlets, meanwhile, include society magazine Paris Match as well as weekly newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche and radio station Europe 1, all of which are considered highly influential in shaping public opinion.

The company was built by the late Jean-Luc Lagardère during the 1990s into an empire spanning industries from media to defense. Today, his son Arnaud Lagardère presides over a slimmed-down company that is much more focused on media. The company has previously welcomed Vivendi’s investment, saying its assets would complement the firm’s own activities.

A spokesman for Lagardère didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday.

Amber initially bought shares in Lagardère in 2016, before fighting a five-year battle to get rid of the company’s “société en commandite” structure, a corporate setup that allowed Mr. Lagardère to control the firm with only a 7% stake. The fund also challenged Lagardère over its financial performance, which has lagged behind France’s main index for years.

Write to Nick Kostov at [email protected]