Czech businessman Daniel Kretinsky, head of the CMI France press group (Marianne, Elle, Public), wants to invest in video media specializing in social networks Loopsider, concordant sources told AFP on Thursday. confirming information from Letter A. According to these sources, CMI France is negotiating with investment banker Bernard Mourad, co-founder and president of Loopsider, who recently revealed that he has cancer.
This media recently made a name for itself by revealing, with
Le Monde
, an audio recording in which we hear police officers, presented as members of BRAV-M, making insulting and humiliating remarks towards seven young demonstrators who had just come from France. challenge during a wild demonstration in Paris.
Many investments in France
The group of Daniel Kretinsky would discuss the acquisition of 30% to 40% of the company, but the discussions on the valuation of this one would not be successful, writes the Letter A. The Czech energy magnate, whose fortune amounts to 7.8 billion euros according to Forbes, has accelerated its investments in French media in recent years via CMI France.
He is notably a co-shareholder of the newspaper
Le Monde
, bailed out
Liberation
without becoming a shareholder and owns more than 5% of the audiovisual group TF1.
In December, CMI France took a stake in the podcast studio Louie Media.
More recently, Kretinsky entered into exclusive negotiations with Vivendi to acquire 100% of Editis, the number two in French publishing, and is also investing in distribution in France, with 10% of Casino and 25% of Fnac Darty.
His profile and his financial capacities could convince the current leaders of Loopsider (Guiseppe de Martino, Arnaud Maillard and Johan Hunagel), who together hold almost 60% of the capital, to contribute part of their shares to the operation.
They presented their plan in mid-March to rent the social network analysis software developed by Loopsider, and also wish to launch a new section on "
the creative economy
", which will bring together content on technology, marketing, advertising, video games or even NFTs.
In 2022, the free media financed by its sponsored content, which also publishes white label sites for companies, recorded a turnover of more than 4 million euros for a net profit of nearly 200,000 euros, its second consecutive profitable year.