TV

Merger Under Threat As French Competition Authority Raises Concerns

The proposed merger between French broadcasting groups TF1 and M6 has hit a potential obstacle after Frances competition authority raised concerns about the deal.

Leading commercial broadcasters TF1 Group, M6 Group and their respective parent companies Bouygues and the RTL Group first announced they were in merger negotiations in May 2021.

They said their aim was to create a commercial broadcasting giant – spanning TV, radio, digital, content production and technology – with the breadth and scale to compete against the global platforms.

The authority, which announced in March of this year that it was investigating the merger, released its findings late Tuesday (July 26). It said it had identified significant competition problems and was not favourable to the merger in its current format. The TF1 Group, parent company Bouygues and M6 released identical statements in response to the report. They downplayed its significance but at the same time noted that antitrust measures suggested by the authority could kill the deal.

In their report, which in no way predicts the final decision of the authoritys board, the investigation teams consider that the deal raises a number of significant competition concerns (especially in relation to the advertising market), read the statement.

The nature and extent of the remedies required in the report would mean that the merger plans would no longer be meaningful for the parties involved and they would therefore abandon them.

They added that none of the merger parties intended to make any changes to their original plans and that they would inform the authority of their response within the next three weeks.

A hearing is due to take place with the competition authority on September 5 and 6.

French media described the authoritys report as a harsh blow and a lead shot in the wing but it remains to be seen how it will impact the process of getting the merger deal over the line.

Other critics include business tycoon Xavier Niel, whose interests include burgeoning pan-European production house Mediawan. He has said the merger would create a monster and reduce financing options for the countrys independent producers.

M6 CEO and chairman of the board Nicolas de Tavernost, who is a driving force behind the fusion, has told French media that the involved parties are determined to make the merger happen but not at any cost.

Lawyers For French Star Dany Boon Say He Was Scammed To The Tune Of $6.8M By Fake Irish Lord

A story worthy of one of his hit comedies, French star Dany Boon is reported to have been scammed to the tune of $6.8 million by a man masquerading as an Irish lord and is now embroiled in a legal battle in the Dublin courts to get his money back.

The Welcome to the Sticks and Nothing to Declare star claims to have fallen prey to a man called Thierry Fialek Birles, who has several aliases including Terry Birles and Thierry Waterford-Mandeville.

Boons Irish lawyer Rossa Fanning SC told the High Court in Dublin earlier in July that Birles had embezzled Boon via an elaborate network of bogus companies. He said the star was first introduced to Birles by a mutual sailing contact when looking for someone to renovate his classic yacht Umaren.

Reports of the case have started emerging in the Irish and French media in recent days following the lifting of an embargo put in place while Boons legal team raced to put a temporary order in place freezing the accuseds assets.

Boon claims Birles told him he was a partner in a company called the South Sea Merchants Mariners Ltd Partnership (SSMM) that had been in his family for a century. He also convinced the actor he belonged to an ancient aristocratic Irish family.

According to an in-depth report on the case by The Irish Examiner, Boon claims to have paid €2.2m to SSMM for the renovation of his yacht and then advanced another €4.5m for investment in a Bank of Ireland-backed fund offering tax-free, high rates of interest, on Birles advice.

After these payments were made, Birles told Boon that SSMM had been acquired by an Italian family called Rossi, but that he was staying on as an advisor.

A little later, he told Boon he had been fired from the role and advised the actor to sue for his money back. When Boon made inquiries, he was told by a third party with links to the Rossi family that his money had been wired to accounts in South Korea and Panama.

Boon was then tipped off by someone who had been defrauded by Birles in the past. Fanning said Boon had undertaken an in-depth investigation to ascertain the whereabouts of his missing $6.8m before taking the case to the courts.

The investigation revealed that neither the Rossi family nor the Bank of Ireland-backed investment scheme existed; that the Rossi family third party that Boon had been in contact with was in fact Birles, and that an insurance firm suggested by the latter to cover the yacht was registered to a hardware store in Samoa.

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