Vivendi to sell celebrity magazine Gala to win EU approval for Lagardere bid -source

PARIS (Reuters) – French media giant Vivendi is set to commit to selling celebrity magazine Gala in a bid to win the European Commission’s approval for the acquisition of Lagardere, a source close to the matter said on Tuesday.

The commitment to the European Commission’s antitrust services will be made on Wednesday, the source added.

The pledged sale of Gala would be the latest remedy offered by Vivendi, controlled by billionaire Vincent Bollore, as it seeks to secure the takeover of Lagardere’s flagship weekly publications Journal du Dimanche (JDD) and Paris Match.

Last month Vivendi said it was in talks to sell its publishing division Editis to billionaire Daniel Kretinsky to allay EU antitrust worries, as Lagardere is home to Hachette, the world’s third-biggest publishing group.

(Reporting by Kate Entringer; writing by Mathieu Rosemain; editing by Kirsten Donovan and Jason Neely)