Is Canal+ on sale again?
Most discreetly, TF1, Pathé, Albert Frère and Lagardère, the so-called “great manipulators”, have re-opened negotiations to buy
Canal+.
Last July Jean-René Fourtou, the chairman and CEO of Vivendi Universal (VU) denied industry rumours that the French film industry’s main source of funding was up for sale. However the recent attempt made by Britain’s Vodafone to take control of Cegetel, VU’s telecommunications subsidiary, changed all that.
However VU is cash hungry and Canal+ is one of its most attractive assets. French production, distribution and exhibition group, Pathé, headed by Jérome Seydoux, is said to be one of the potential buyers in association with TF1 and Belgian finance expert Albert Frère. They are said to have made an offer of between Euros 650 and Euros 700 for each Canal+ subscriber and the French authorities have already been informed about the negotiations. However the Lagardère consortium is alleged to have threatened to veto an operation that would result in the merger of two satellite networks, TPS and Canal Satellite. All interested parties in this latest twist in the VU saga have issued official denials but the indications are new developments will be forthcoming shortly.
(Translated from French)
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