CMA CGM signs agreement with French media company

The deal is subject to regulatory approval and ensures continuity of Altice's editorial policy with current management remaining

Rodolphe Saadé, Chairman & CEO of the CMA CGM Group, declared: “ Through this contemplated acquisition, we have the ambition to pursue our long-term development into the media sector. Altice Media is a reference media group, with strong growth, talented teams, and iconic brands. Altice Media’s complementarity with CMA CGM’s existing Media Division and its renowned medias, La Provence, Corse Matin, La Tribune et La Tribune Dimanche, will be a key strength.  Together, at any time, in any place and on any device, we can be the voice of the challenges resulting from innovation and by economic, social, and territorial evolutions”.

CMA CGM, which set up a dedicated Media Division comprising its local newspapers, its business and financial digital newspaper and its national Sunday newspaper, pursues its strategy to establish a long-term, leading Media Division.

This acquisition project would enable CMA CGM’s Media Division to offer highest-quality news, sports, and entertainment contents, addressing the needs of a constantly growing audience with diversified consumption patterns.

In today’s digital age, with more diverse media consumption patterns, the know-how and expertise of the teams would allow to share high-quality and increasingly top-rated publishing content, at any time, in any place and on any device.

Through Altice Media’s iconic brands, mainly BFM and RMC, and with La Provence, Corse Matin, La Tribune, and La Tribune Dimanche, the new entity would be present across all distribution channels: digital, broadcasting, video, print and B2B editorial events.

The contemplated project would be done in total continuity with the current editorial policy at Altice Media, which drove the success of its TV channels and radio stations. To ensure such continuity, CMA CGM has offered Altice Media current management team to remain in place.

Altice Media would be jointly acquired by CMA CGM, for a 80% stake and Merit France, its Family Holding, for a 20% stake, for a total enterprise value of € 1.55 billion.

The information and consultation of the relevant employee representative bodies of Altice France companies will start immediately. The relevant procedures required to obtain the customary regulatory approvals have already been initiated.