French company Vivendi is due to appear at a closed hearing at the European Commission on Dec. 10 over allegations its media operation influenced that of takeover target Lagardère before the deal was approved by the EU merger regulator in 2023, MLex has learned. The commission also believes executives of both companies tried to cover up evidence by deleting emails and setting Signal messages on auto-delete.
French company Vivendi is due to appear at a closed hearing at the European Commission on Dec. 10 over accusations its media operation influenced that of takeover target Lagardère before the deal was approved by the EU merger regulator in 2023, MLex has learned.Vivendi representatives and lawyers are expected to push back during the hearing on the commission's formal chargesheet, or statement of objections, which it sent the French media conglomerate in July.
The commission opened a probe in 2023 to examine whether Vivendi, which owns news outlets including right-wing TV channel CNews, started exerting control over the commercial and editorial policies of Lagardère's news outlets — the radio station Europe 1, the magazine Paris Match, and the newspapers Le Journal du Dimanche — from September 2021.
Allegations of undue influence surfaced in France, with those media outlets playing a significant role in the political sphere, in particular during the 2022 French presidential election, during which Emmanuel Macron narrowly won against far-right candidate Marine Le Pen. Vivendi is controlled by right-wing businessman Vincent Bolloré.
Vivendi also allegedly influenced editorial and staff issues at those outlets. That included, the commission believes, influencing Paris Match's coverage, making it more newsy and less celebrity-oriented, as well as interfering on recruitment. A strike at the radio station Europe 1 in June 2021 also saw intervention from Vivendi.
The alleged interference also included sharing commercially sensitive information, for example regarding the broadcast program of radio Europe 1 or details on the launch of a magazine by Le Journal du Dimanche.
The commission believes Vivendi's behavior was intentional, or at least careless.
The regulator also suspects executives of both companies tried to cover up evidence by deleting emails and using the encrypted messaging app Signal. In particular, it has objected to the way messages on a Signal group involving Vivendi and Lagardère executives would auto-delete.
If this aggravating circumstance is confirmed in the final decision, it could lead to a higher fine for the company, MLex understands.
Vivendi did not answer a request for comment.
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