New setback for the sale of Marianne. The CMI France group, owned by Czech tycoon Daniel Kretinsky, announced this Saturday, November 16 “to “take note of the cessation of negotiations for the resale of the weekly to entrepreneur Jean-Martial Lefranc, after his recusal by the society of editors (SRM). In a press release, the media group (She, Télé 7 jours…) deplores “an unprecedented situation (which) places the magazine in an uncertain situation”. In July, previous negotiations for the takeover of Marianne had been arrested with conservative billionaire Pierre-Edouard Stérinrejected by the editors.

On Tuesday, SRM had requested “an immediate halt of negotiations with Jean-Martial Lefranc, stating that his €8.5 million takeover offer did not provide sufficient guarantees of the title’s editorial independence, and was no longer financially viable following the defection of a major investor. The entourage of Jean-Martial Lefranc, an entrepreneur with a career in video games, reacted by lamenting that “the radical nature of the editorial team and that this “attitude” did not allow “to envisage a calm and constructive takeover of Marianne at this time”..

CMI France is committed to “finding a future” for Marianne

In a press release issued on Saturday, the CMI France group acknowledges this impasse and states that it will henceforth examine the following issues “all possible solutions”., “determined (…) to find a future for the title, in consultation with the magazine’s management”.. The group, owner of Marianne since 2018, “will shortly indicate the main directions that could then be adopted”.according to the press release.

In 2023, with 129,000 copies sold, Marianne saw its circulation fall by 1.3% compared to 2022, behind its competitors Le Point (291.000, -1,5%), L’Obs (190,000, -7%) and L’Express (144,000, -5%), according to the Alliance pour les chiffres de la presse et des médias. Marianne lost 3 million euros in 2023, on sales of 12 million euros.