The CMA-CGM and Xavier Niel in the running for the acquisition of "La Provence"

A Marseille maritime carrier, the founder of Free or an actor out of the hat?

Candidates for the acquisition of the 89% held by the Bernard Tapie Group in the regional daily

will have until November 30 to submit their offer, announced Tuesday the liquidator of the group of the businessman who died in early October.

The businessman Xavier Niel, founder of the telecommunications operator Free, already owner of the

 and the shipowner CMA CGM have shown signs of interest.

Xavier Niel seems to be leaving with a head start, already holding an 11% stake in the

group

.

"No firm takeover offer at this stage"

Xavier Niel's group, which had a shareholders' agreement with Bernard Tapie's group, emphasizes having "developed in recent years a strong experience in the development of press brands".

"The project led by CMA-CGM aims to guarantee, over the long term, the territorial anchoring and the independence of the newspaper and its editorial staff, and to support its development in the service of the influence of the Provençal territory", indicated Rodolphe Saadé, the president of the Marseille shipowner, with a net profit close to 3.5 billion dollars in the second quarter of this year.

The judicial liquidator said on Tuesday that he had "not received any firm takeover offer at this stage".

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• Provence

• Xavier Niel

• Free

• Bernard Tapie

• Marseilles

• Media