French media company Vivendi buys publisher

French media company Vivendi has bought French-language publisher Editis from Spanish owner Planeta in a deal that values the business at €900 million ($A1.4bn), reports BookBrunch.

Editis is the second-largest French publishing group after Hachette Livre, employing around 2400 people and publishing 4000 titles a year from 50 different imprints.

The publisher is placed alongside other Vivendi companies such as Universal Music Group, film and television company Canal+ Group, ad agency Havas and mobile games company Gameloft.

Vivendi CEO Arnaud de Puyfontaine will become chairman of the publisher, with Editis managing director Pierre Conte to become CEO. BookBrunch suggests that Vivendi, which already has English-language businesses, may seek an English-language publisher to sit alongside Editis. Vivendi bought US publisher Houghton Mifflin in 2001, but sold it in the following year after accumulating debt.

Category: International news