Businessman Claude Perdriel bought Renault's share in the Challenges magazine group, which he heads, the management of the two groups said on Monday, confirming information from Les Echos .
Renault had announced at the end of 2017 an unprecedented commitment in the press group, up to 40%, for a dozen million euros. He wanted to test the creation of content adapted to users of connected cars, such as podcasts, as part of a project called "Augmented editorial experience" (AEX).
€ 6 million
Claude Perdriel bought the carmaker's share in December 2019 for 6 million euros, confirmed the management of the press group. In addition to the economic weekly paper Challenges , the group publishes the magazine Sciences et Avenir and the magazines L'Histoire , Historia and La recherche .
Claude Perdriel had already recapitalized his group in August 2019 without the help of Renault, thus slightly reducing the participation of the car manufacturer in the magazine editor.
"Challenges" remains fragile
A spokesperson for Renault confirmed the sale on Monday evening, however ensuring that the AEX project did not "end yet" and that the group wanted to "give it a more international dimension". "By advancing in the project, we realize that we can clearly advance differently with more classic collaborations, without necessarily investing in a capital way".
On the Challenges side, the group's financial situation remains fragile, even if the losses were reduced from 4 million euros two years ago to 2.6 million today, for a turnover of fifty of millions. In a market for magazines in crisis, the circulation of the economic weekly was down slightly in 2019, around 190,000 copies.
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