The French anti-trust regulator has cancelled the 2006 merger of Canal+ and TPS saying that Canal+ did not respect 10 of the 59 merger conditions (mainly around 3rd party channel distribution and the TPS channel quality).
As a consequence of that:
– Canal+ will be fined Euro30m for ‘repeatedly acting in bad faith’
– Canal+ is now required to submit a new offer for TPS within a month.
The TPS shareholders were Lagardere, TF1 and M6 but TF1/M6 sold their 10%/5% stakes to Vivendi last year allowing it to increase its stake in Canal+ to 80%. Lagardere owns the other 20%. It’s unclear whether former TPS shareholders will benefit from any fine/subsequent C+ undertakings. Here to read more.
