RTL Group has announced it intends to keep its controlling stake in Groupe M6.
The decision comes following a strategic review and “several financially attractive offers” for its 48.3% stake in the French commercial broadcaster.
Thomas Rabe, CEO of RTL Group, said: “RTL Group has been a strategic shareholder in Groupe M6 for 35 years. Groupe M6 is one of the best-run TV companies in Europe with an excellent management team, led by its CEO Nicolas de Tavernost. In 2021, Groupe M6 achieved record operating results. We will continue to pursue our strategy to build national media groups of sufficient size to compete with the US platforms.”
Last month, Groupe Bouygues, RTL Group, Groupe TF1 and Groupe M6 decided to call off their plan to merge Groupe TF1 and Groupe M6, amid concerns from the competition authorities.
However, RTL Group now considers the legal risks and uncertainties to be too high, due to the required approval processes from the antitrust and media authorities, and the timing for the upcoming license renewal for the main channel M6.
What remains the elephant in the room is what drove the merger process in the first place, the need for market consolidation for European TV to insulate itself from the Global Tech platforms.
