(Reuters) – Vivendi said on Monday it had entered into a purchase agreement with International Media Invest (IMI), a subsidiary of Czech Media Invest, for the sale of publishing company Editis.

The company, which is on the verge of obtaining EU clearance to buy Lagardère, said in March that talks on the sale of Editis had started with IMI, founded by the billionaire businessman Daniel Křetinský.

Daniel Křetínský, who made his fortune in energy, holds stakes in the daily Le Monde, Casino and TF1.

The businessman also proposed Monday a capital increase to Casino to which he would subscribe as part of a plan that could lead to a takeover of the group.

Czech Media Invest (CMI), which he heads, is the leading media group in the Czech Republic.

“Regarding the combination between Vivendi and Lagardère, we have submitted proposed remedies to the European Commission and are now awaiting its decision, scheduled for mid-June 2023,” Vivendi said in a statement.

In a separate press release, IMI declared that “the acquisition of Editis reinforces CMI’s development strategy in the content industry while respecting the dimension of cultural exception specific to these activities.”

Vivendi also announced an increase in its turnover in the first quarter, citing the growth of all the company’s activities, in particular that of the Canal+ Group.

The company, whose first investor is billionaire Vincent Bolloré, announced a 3.1% increase in revenue at constant exchange rates to 2.29 billion euros in the first three months of 2023, against 2.22 billion euros a year ago.

However, this is lower than the forecast of 2.30 billion euros established by analysts at JPMorgan and that of 2.28 billion by analysts at Barclays.

On the Paris Stock Exchange, Vivendi shares lost 2% to 9.74 euros in the morning while the CAC 40 fell at the same time by 0.26%.

(Report Laura Lenkiewics and Diana Mandiá, Augustin Turpin, edited by Blandine Hénault)

Copyright © 2023 Thomson Reuters