August & Debouzy has advised France Economie Régions (FER) on its bid to take over the French newspaper La Tribune.
France Economie Régions’ majority shareholder, the Hima Group, teamed up with the Hi-media Group, chaired by its founder, Cyril Zimmermann, for the bid.
The business plan consists in combining continuous online news coverage (via a quality website) with the publication of a weekly newspaper every Friday. This was the only bid submitted to the court to plan for the development of both media formats, to ensure greater visibility for the paper. Another important aspect of the bid was the takeover of 50 employees (journalists, designers and managers).
France Economie Régions will develop the events business around the newspaper (women’s forum, Tribune awards, etc.) and will strengthen its national notoriety through a solid base in the regions (development of the regional office network in the short term).
August & Debouzy assisted France Economie Régions with its bid to take over the newspaper, with Pierre-Charles Ranouil, partner, and Laurent Cotret, counsel.
