PARIS (Reuters) - French publishing group Lagardere will retain its stock market listing after being taken over by media conglomerate Vivendi (EPA:VIV), Vivendi supervisory board Chairman Yannick Bollore told French daily Le Figaro.
"We want Lagardere to remain listed: the aim is to maximise value for all parties, including investors," he said. "Lagardere will remain an independent and autonomous unit."
Vivendi has overcome multiple legal hurdles in its bid to acquire Lagardere, including securing EU antitrust approval by selling publishing unit Editis to Daniel Kretinsky's International Media Invest, and its stake in lifestyle magazine Gala to Prisma Media. Both transactions have now closed.
However, EU antitrust regulators in July opened an investigation into whether Vivendi infringed merger rules during its acquisition of Lagardere with a hefty fine likely for any breach.
"We complied with European rules and we are confident and of good faith," Bollore said, adding that Vivendi had not provisioned for a possible fine, which could be as high as 10% of turnover.