Alice Group has sold its media arm, which includes BFM and RMC TV channels, to Lebanese-French billionaire Rodolphe Saadeh in a deal worth $1.68 billion (€1.55 billion).
French media reported that the sale was announced to Altice Media employees on Friday morning, after the signing of a legally binding promise to purchase the media group by Saadeh’s company, CMA CGM.
News of the deal came just seven months after Israeli-French billionaire Patrick Drahi, owner of Altice France, said at a shareholders meeting that Altice Media was not for sale.
Drahi’s Altice group is currently struggling to reduce an estimated $60 billion debt pile as well as a corruption investigation involving Altice Portugal and Drahi’s long-term business partner Armando Pereira. Drahi denied any knowledge of the company’s alleged misconduct.
Saadeh’s interest in Altice Media has been rumored for some time.
The Beirut-born, France-based businessman is president of logistics group CMA CGM, which was founded by his father, Jacques Saadeh. His net worth is estimated at approximately $10 billion, and he is one of the richest people in France and Lebanon.
His CMA CGM Média group already owns the French regional newspapers La Provence and Corse-Matin as well as the financial news magazine La Tribune.