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PARIS — French media conglomerate Vivendi announced on Monday that it was in talks to buy French publishing house Prisma Media from Germany’s Bertelsmann .
Vivendi, whose main shareholder Vincent Bollore is vying with rival billionaire and LVMH boss Bernard Arnault for more influence at French media group Lagardere, said Prisma Media was France’s number one press publishing group, with leading titles such as Femme Actuelle, Capital, Gala and Tele-Loisirs.
Founded in 1835 as a publisher of theological texts, Bertelsmann is a private conglomerate spanning magazine, educational and music publishing. The company also controls European TV group RTL.
Last month, Bertelsmann agreed to purchase publisher Simon & Schuster for $2.175 billion in cash from ViacomCBS, strengthening its presence in the United States. (Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Jan Harvey and Louise Heavens)
