France’s M6 Put Up For Sale, Circled by French Shipping Tycoon Rodolphe Saade, Among Others

variety.com:

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent German media group Bertelsmann has put its TV group M6, France’s second-biggest commercial broadcaster, back on the market following its abandoned merger with TF1.

Bertelsmann’s chief executive Thomas Rabe told the Financial Times that he has asked to receive non-binding offers by Friday to “test the market” after being “inundated with expressions of interest.” Bertelsmann’s RTL Group owns a 48.3% stake in M6 Among those expected to bid are a consortium of high-profile French entrepreneurs including Rodolphe Saadé, the French shipping billionaire; Stéphane Courbit, chairman of TV powerhouse Banijay; and Marc Ladreit de Lacharrière, chairman of the investment vehicle Fimalac, Variety has confirmed.

The Financial Times reports that some other players that bid during the last auction and lost — including Xavier Niel, the telecom billionaire and co-founder of Mediawan, and Silvio Berlusconi’s conglomerate MediaForEurope — are believed to be considering renewed bids.

M6 saw its share drop by more than 5% following the collapse of its merger with TF1 last week. The group now has a market value of about €1.6 billion ($1.58 billion).