(Reuters) – Vivendi announced on Thursday that it now expects the acquisition of Lagardère to be finalized by the end of the year, later than initially planned.

The group had initially planned to complete the acquisition of Lagardère by the end of October.

In order to complete this acquisition and respond to European fears regarding competition, the company has undertaken to sell the publishing house Editis and the magazine Gala, respective competitors of Hachette and Paris Match, two subsidiaries of Lagardère .

The two Vivendi entities should be sold respectively to International Media Invest (IMI), a company owned by Czech businessman Daniel Kretinsky, and Prisma Media, a subsidiary of Vivendi.

The European Commission must now approve these two buyers as suitable buyers, Vivendi said.

“Our Group will then take on a new dimension, with turnover increasing by around 70% thanks to the contribution of Hachette, the world’s third largest consumer and education publishing group, and to travel activities. retail”, jointly declared Yannick Bolloré, chairman of the supervisory board of Vivendi, and Arnaud de Puyfontaine, chairman of the management board, in a press release.

Vivendi reported increased third-quarter revenue, driven by growth in its Canal+ and Havas divisions.

The group’s turnover stood at 2.43 billion, up 3.1% at constant exchange rates and scope over one year.

Sales of the Havas advertising business increased by 4.5% compared to the previous year to reach 654 million euros, while revenues from Canal+ increased by 3.9% compared to the previous year .

(Reporting Olivier Cherfan, Laura Lenkiewicz; Gaëlle Sheehan, edited by Blandine Hénault and Kate Entringer)

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