French media company Vivendi may win control of Lagardère which owns book publisher Hachette Livre, to sit alongside Editis which Vivendi also owns, subject to regulatory approval by French competition authorities.
Vivendi is to buy the 18% stake currently owned by Amber Capital which will give it 45% of the shares and 36% of the voting rights which could potentially lead to a full takeover of the company. The offer for the Amber Capital shares at €24.1 values the whole of Lagardère at €3.4bn; the company has a turnover of over €7bn.
