Vincent Bolloré did not wait for the much-contested pension reform of the hated Macron to metaphorically hang up the oars of his boat. On 17 February 2022, the date of his seventieth birthday, the Breton financier chose to officially retire from business, giving his son Cyrille control of the group and the other heir Yannick the leadership of Vivendi. Since then, his main occupation, reports Le Monde, consists in promoting his own project for “the good death”. With great discretion and a network of collaborators, Bollò finances a network of initiatives (including tablets given free of charge to nursing homes) to prepare the elderly for the big step: exercises to prepare for the transition, develop a small autobiography, make oneself understood from children and grandchildren. If necessary, make peace with yourself.
France and business, Bolloré from spiritual adventure to the sale of logistics
But this spiritual adventure does not prevent the financier who does not give up the annual pilgrimage to Lourdes and who has proposed himself as "defender of the Christian West" to have control of the empire. The choices that matter are still made at 51 rue Montmorency, in the heart of the XNUMXth arrondissement, where the Compagnie de l'Odet, the holding company that controls 64% of the group. That's where, in early May, it was decided the sale of Bolloré Logistique to the Marseille group CMA WYD. A'operation worth 4,65 billion euro that completes the group's exit from the sector, which began a year ago with the sale of African activities to the Aponte group, a deal worth 5,7 billion euro.
And it is there that, within a few weeks, monsieur Vincent, by now the reference editor of the transalpine right, will complete the purchase of the Lagardère group. Or perhaps, even before that, the order of close the interminable dossier of Telecom Italia's single network, of which Vivendi is the main shareholder. The latest rumors say that the distance between the consortium of buyers (Kkr plus Cdp) and Vivendi's claims have now shortened: the offer is around 24 billion, the request has already dropped from the initial 31 billion.
We will see. For the moment we only know that Bollò, in the role of protagonist of the media scene, is determined to gain control of the parent company of Canal+ and Havas, thus reaffirming the intention to also act ahead of the European elections a leading role, despite the flop of Eric Zemmour in the presidential elections.
The unstoppable rise of Rodolfo Saadé: blows La Provence to Xavier Niel
But the publishing virus has also hit CMa-CGM, the logistics giant owned by Franco-Lebanese Saadé family, which has leapt to the top of French business thanks to the enormous profits made in the pandemic season: 15 billion euros in the first six months of 2022 alone, thanks to the transport of cereals. More than Total. An exceptional result, also because the group experienced difficult years at the beginning of the millennium, before taking over the reins of command came Rodolphe Saade, born in Beirut but with a long apprenticeship between Hong Kong and the United States. A reserved character despite being by now the first employer of Marseilles, a fascinating but complex metropolis that has always had a history of its own in the Hexagon, a training ground for the ambitions of politicians able to stand up to De Gaulle, such as the legendary Gaston Defferre protagonist of a sword duel with a Gaullist, or for the incredible adventure of Bernard Tapie: entrepreneur, minister, king of transalpine football and then, after the judicial misadventures, actor.
Since then Marseille, a center of not always lawful trafficking, has been looking for a new point of reference between football, news and politics. A Gerard Depardieu character, protagonist of a serial about the city. Will it be Saadé? “I assure you not – Saadé put his hands forward a year ago – I have no intention of being mayor or even less of buying theOlympique Marseille o Provence”, the newspaper which, despite being in crisis, remains the reference voice of the city”. But in the end he couldn't stand the temptation by stealing the newspaper from Xavier Niel of Iliad who commented: "I wonder why he wanted to pay a price at least ten times higher than the value". It's the allure of the print, beauty. Too bad Italy is immune to it.
