Paris (AFP)

Free boss Xavier Niel, who has just confirmed that he was taking control of 34% of Nice-Matin, has expanded his media portfolio in recent years, alternating massive investments in traditional media and boosting the pace of growth. newcomers.

In 2010, he took control of 75% of the group Le Monde with Pierre Bergé and the banker Matthieu Pigasse, bailing out close to 120 million euros the group on the brink of bankruptcy. Since then, the group has bought the Nouvel Obs, tried to acquire LCI, but is mostly profitable again after years of crisis.

Sitting on the supervisory board of the newspaper, Xavier Niel, 51, and other shareholders have "respected their commitments not to interfere with the editorial line," said Paul Benkimoun, president of the society editors of the World.

Matthieu Pigasse and Xavier Niel bought the shares of Pierre Bergé after his death in 2017.

With Matthieu Pigasse still, but also with the producer Pierre-Antoine Capton, Xavier Niel founded in another giant in 2015: the investment company Mediawan, which had raised 205 million euros at its launch, and became in a few years the champion of the production of audiovisual hexagonal fictions ("The red bracelets", "The purple rivers" ...). The group intends to become the "European leader in content".

Through his telecom group, Free, Mr. Niel also plays a growing role in the audiovisual landscape. He is currently in conflict with the group Altice (BFMTV, RMC Découverte), which he does not want to pay the broadcast on his box.

In addition to these heavy investments, Xavier Niel has supported a number of media startups: from Atlantico to the sites Les Jours and Marsactu, via Mediapart, through the Society of Friends of the news site, which he owns. 17.58% (ie 3% of the capital of Mediapart).

He is also likely to invest in the TV Molotov application.

Through his Kima fund, he has also invested in the Italian platform Freeda or in the Majelan podcast offer.

To these participations are now added that in Nice Matin: Mr. Niel announced this Friday have, via his personal holding NJJ, taken control of 34% of Nice-Matin by buying 51% of Avenir Developpement, the holding of Belgian group Nethys which had this share of the regional daily since 2016. The other 66% of Nice Matin are held by the newspaper's employees via a SCIC, a cooperative in which they had invested their 13th month in 2014.

With this takeover of Avenir Développement, Mr. Niel also has 11% of the capital of the group La Provence, whose majority shareholder is Bernard Tapie.

© 2019 AFP