Deal Announcement

goetzpartners has acted as exclusive financial advisor to La Martinière Groupe in the context of its combination with Média-Participations

23. January 2018

La Martinière Groupe (Editions de La Martinière, Le Seuil, Abrams, etc.) has successfully completed its combination with Média-Participations (Fleurus, Dargaud, Dupuis, Rustica, Lombard, Editions Anne Carrière, ENPC, Editions 365…).

This transaction creates the 3rd largest player in the French book publishing arena with strong footholds in many of the industry’s segments: leader in comic books, major player in literature publishing and one of the largest publishers in children’s literature. The new group intends to pursue its development while preserving the identity of its various brands, in line with both companies historical management traditions.

This combination, during which the shareholders of La Martinière Groupe have contributed their shares to Média-Participations, further increases the sustainability of the new group, with the unfailing support of its historical shareholders.

Hervé de la Martinière, Chairman of La Martinière Groupe: “We have particularly enjoyed working with goetzpartners, with whom we have   established a remarkable working relationship based on trust and genuine proximity. goetzpartners has contributed greatly to the success of the transaction.”

Guillaume Piette, Managing Director at goetzpartners: “We are delighted to have advised La Martinière Groupe during this important milestone in its history. This combination, which was conducted in the greatest secrecy, enables the constitution of the third largest book publishing conglomerate in France. This transaction showcases goetzpartners’ proven ability to support founders-led businesses and strengthens further our industry expertise in the publishing space.”

ABOUT LA MARTINIÈRE GROUPE

La Martinière Groupe (2016 sales of €206m) is a major player in the French publishing arena built around iconic brands (Editions de la Martinière, Le Seuil, etc.) and benefiting from a rare international exposure (Abrams in the United-States and Knesebeck in Germany). Present on numerous publishing segments (literature, human sciences, picture books, children's books, etc.), the group publishes over 3,000 front-list books on a yearly basis and manages a backlist in excess of 26,500 references. Over 90 major literary awards have been won by the publishing houses of the group.

ABOUT MÉDIA-PARTICIPATIONS

Média-Participations (2016 sales of €355m) is a diversified publishing group with complementary activities in magazine, audiovisual production and video game development. Very active notably in comic books and children’s books, the group recently made its mark in general literature with the acquisition of Editions Anne Carrière in June 2017.

GOETZPARTNERS TEAM

Guillaume Piette
Managing Director
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Cédric Hawthorn
Director
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Julien Pascal
Associate

Houssam Cheb
Analyst

Dina Bouzoubaa
Analyst