the shape of The group of French press of billionaire Czech Daniel Kretinksy occur. Made up of Marianne, and several magazines from the Lagardère group, as a Version Fémina, Télé 7 jours, Ici Paris or France on Sunday , the group will be known as CMI France, to the Czech Media Invest France. The operational management of the whole shall be entrusted to Clear Léost, current director-general “world of grand public” in Lagardère Active. And another figure of Lagardère chair IJC France: Denis Olivennes, ex-president of the media group.
“Daniel Kretinsky, with his council, Étienne Bertier, offered me the chairmanship non-executive of the new group,” says Denis Olivennes in an interview published on the website of Challenges. “We don’t know yet what will be the form of the company, the board of directors or supervisory board. In any case, Clear Léost, former Lagardère Active, will take over the operational management of these nine titles.” CMI France will come to life after the transfer of the magazines from Lagardère for € 52 million, “which is expected to be final in early February”. And according to Denis Olivennes, the group has “very definitely” intend to grow by making further acquisitions. The group will not, however, the minority participation of Daniel Kretinsky in The World . The business man has bought in the end of the year 49% of the participation of Mathieu Pigasse in daily life.
“A man of business brilliant”
Denis Olivennes has presided over Canal + France (2000-2002) and the Fnac (2003-2008) before taking the direction of the New Observer (2008-2010). He then took the head of Europe 1, before being appointed to the head of the pole information of Lagardère Active, and then take the chairmanship of the media group from 2011. It was announced this summer leave Lagardère Active, a departure that was effective during December. Denis Olivennes had the last load of selling at the cutting media assets of Lagardère in the press, television, tv production, radio, and digital activities ,with the exception of Europe 1, the Sunday Newspaper and Paris Match .
The officer described the one with which it has negotiated the sale of magazines of Lagardère as “a man of business brilliant, at the head of a group energy among the top five in Europe.” Daniel Kretinsky has made a fortune by buying up coal-fired power stations on the continent, and just purchase two of them in France, in the Bouches-du-Rhône and Moselle.
“For him, the question is how to be useful to the european continent in a period worrying rise of populism and fake news. This francophile and francophone considers that France, a pillar of Europe, is on the front line. The idea, for me, is to contribute to building a group of free and independent press. It is an ideal that speaks to me,” says Denis Olivennes. “Ensuring the independence of the newsrooms will be even easier with an owner who is not there, doesn’t date in the city and has no political friends in France,” he says. The shareholder will however remain attentive. “Daniel Kretinsky does not want to lose money with his media, but he does not expect either a cost-effectiveness comparable to its other activities,” says the future president of CMI France.
