So the Pearson-LVMH deal has finally happened, after months of back and forth and protests: French luxury goods group LVMH has signed an agreement to buy the French business paper Les Echos from Britain’s Pearson (NYSE: PSO) Plc, despite opposition from the journalists. The price: about $347 million. As a mark of protest, the journalists will not run an edition of the newspaper on Tuesday.
Les Echos has an annual turnover of 126 million Euros, operating profits of 10 million Euros, and a circulation of more than 119,000.
The deal came after a court ruled against Les Echos staffers, who argued there had not been enough time for consultations and to find an alternate bid (a mirror of some of the efforts that happened in the News Corp-Dow Jones (NYSE: DJ) deal). LVMH said the agreement includes a number of measures relating to the editorial independence as well as commitments in terms of jobs at the heart of Les Echos group. More here in Press Gazette.
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