Xavier Niel is now sole master on board at Nice-Matin. This Thursday afternoon, the 456 employee-shareholders of the group validated with 99% of the votes the repurchase of their shares by the businessman, via his holding company NJJ. The latter already held 34% of the capital, acquired this summer from the Belgian group Nethys. “There was no doubt about this result. The general assembly was quick, and the voting instructions were very clear, ” says one internally. The employee-shareholders' shares will be acquired for a total of five million euros, five times the initial stake of these employees, who had invested their 13th month in 2014.
Friday, a board of directors will act on this change in governance. The post of CEO of Nice-Matin, previously occupied by Jean-Marc Pastorino, should temporarily fall to Anthony Maarek, managing director of NJJ, the holding company of Xavier Niel.
The end of a soap
This marks the end of a series of twists and turns in the daily life of the Riviera. The Belgian minority shareholder Nethys was supposed to take the majority of the capital of the press group on January 1, 2019, before backtracking. The Franco-Lebanese businessman Iskandar Safa then declared himself a candidate for the takeover of Nice-Matin.
But drama! Nethys refuses in June to sell its shares to Iskandar Safa, and opts for another candidate hitherto remained in the shade: Xavier Niel. There followed a standoff between the two men, the first supported by the employees of the technical and administrative services, the second by the journalists, minority among the employee-shareholders. While the atmosphere was explosive, and the threat of a long and uncertain legal battle hung over it to gain control of the newspaper, Iskandar Safa decided in late July to throw in the towel. Leaving the field open to Xavier Niel.
»READ ALSO: Nice Morning, the underside of the Niel-Safa war
A departure plan of 80 employees
The businessman's recovery plan provides for the voluntary departure, spread over two years, of 80 non-journalist employees. The budget for these departures is 7 million euros. In addition, the change in shareholders will open a transfer clause for journalists. This device allows them to leave the newspaper on advantageous financial terms. The unions, quoted by AFP, expect between 30 to 35 departures, which would be partially offset by hirings. This point will be at the heart of negotiations between the new management and the unions.
Xavier Niel has promised to devote 50 million euros to Nice-Matin, an amount which includes the buyout of shares, debt clearance, departure financing and 5 million investment in production tools. According to Le Monde, the newspaper, which employs 800 people (including delivery people) including 200 journalists, lost 5 million euros in 2019 for a turnover of 80 million euros. Its paid circulation is 66,000 copies, down 4% year on year. In December, the newspaper had 7,200 digital subscribers, according to CMPA data.
