M6 is entered on Thursday evening in exclusive negotiations with Lagardère Active for the acquisition of its TV department, with the exception of the musical tv channel Mezzo. According to our information, the M6 group led by Nicolas de Tavernost would have paid about 200 million euros in order to put the hand on the DTT channel Gulli and those paid for Canal J and Tiji, as well as the services of video on demand Gulli Replay and Gulli Max. M6 also recovers the channels It Girl TV, MCM RFM TV & MCM Top.
“This is a significant move for the group which has undertaken to refocus on its business in the media broadcasting in the tv, digital and radio with the acquisition of RTL, three years ago. The acquisition of Gulli allows us to be present on the theme of the child which is very important in the consumption on the platforms of SVOD,” explains Nicolas de Tavernost, chairman of the management board of the M6 group.
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For the M6, this acquisition is a way to complement its offer to families and to strengthen its market position in the French audiovisual. He dropped in his wallet chain free of the DTT leader on the children. Gulli shows an audience share of 16.3 % on the public of 4 and 10 years old. And it weighs 40 % of the advertising market on this target.
The M6 group largely reconfigured into two years
In whole, the pôle TV Lagardère has completed in 2017 with a turnover of a hundred million euros and generated an operating margin of approximately 21 %. The activity is therefore a very cost-effective. In two years, the M6 group has been widely reconfigured. At the end of 2016, it has made the acquisition of the first radio station in France, RTL in addition to RTL2 and Fun Radio, with 216 million. At the same time, he was divested of non-strategic activities and little or not cost effective. M6 has disposed of the football club Girondins de Bordeaux for € 100 million, as well as the site MonAlbumPhoto.fr compared to 40 million euros. “This project marks a new milestone for the group, confirming the place of the M6 on the audiovisual market and allowing it to become a leader on the target children. This acquisition strengthens the group status on the tv non-linear and offers him an international exposure,” says Nicolas de Tavernost, the chairman of the board. This redemption must still obtain approval by the CSA and the competition Authority.
