PARIS—French luxury group LVMH Moët Hennessy
Louis Vuitton said late Tuesday it has entered exclusive
negotiations to purchase the newspaper franchise Le
Parisien/Aujourd'hui from media company Groupe Amaury.
"This well-known and respected publication would make a material
contribution to our group," said Francis Morel, chief executive of
Groupe Les Echos, the media arm of LVMH that owns Les Echos
business newspaper, in a statement.
LVMH didn't disclose the price of the transaction.
Le Parisien, a daily tabloid based in Paris, along with its
sister publication Aujourd'hui, which is published in regions
outside of Paris, have long been rumored to be for sale from Groupe
Amaury. The family-held media company also owns L'Equipe, a sports
daily newspaper, and runs sporting events such as the Tour de
France bike race and the Paris Marathon.
Olivier Corsan, a photo journalist and union leader at Le
Parisien, said that Groupe Amaury held a meeting in the afternoon
with employee leaders to announce the news of the negotiations with
LVMH, adding that it was focusing on its sports properties. The
negotiations aren't to conclude until October 2015, Mr. Corsan
said.
LVMH's bid for Le Parisien marks the latest in a wave of
ownership changes in the French press. Cable and telecoms
billionaire Patrick Drahi bought Libération et L'Express
earlier this year. Last year, popular newsweekly magazine Le Nouvel
Observateur was sold to Le Monde, a daily newspaper controlled by a
trio of French businessmen.
Write to Jason Chow at jason.chow@wsj.com
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