French media conglomerate Vivendi has denied reports that it is interested in acquiring its smaller rival Lagardere.
Reuters had previously reported that it had made a bid worth €3.3bn (US$3.5bn) for it in recent weeks, following speculation in the…
French media conglomerate Vivendi has denied reports that it is interested in acquiring its smaller rival Lagardere.
Reuters had previously reported that it had made a bid worth €3.3bn (US$3.5bn) for it in recent weeks, following speculation in the local press.
The denial came shortly after Vivendi shot down reports that it was considering buying British satellite broadcaster Sky to bolster its French DTH group Canal+.
Vivendi CEO Arnaud Puyfontaine told the Financial Times that it was not interested in buying Sky, which recently consolidated its European operations to create a pay-TV giant with 20 million customers, although it was considering transformational transactions.
Speculation about Vivendi’s M&A plans has been rife as it stands to raise about €15bn (US$15.8bn) from selling telecoms assets in France, Morocco and Brazil, and its video game unit Activision.
Its chairman Vincent Bollore, who recently upped his stake in the media group to 14.5%, has said it is considering acquisitions as it looks to develop its Canal+ and Universal Music Group businesses.
The group has reportedly reviewed pay-TV targets in Turkey and other European markets.
It recently entered exclusive talks to buy 80% of video-sharing platform Dailymotion from French incumbent telco Orange for €217m (US$229m).
