France’s Lagardere mulls sale of foreign magazine stable

French media conglomerate Lagardere said yesterday it was considering selling off the stable of magazines it owns abroad but insisted it would keep editorial control of the fashion setting magazine Elle.

Shares in the French company rose after it said it had begun “informal conversations” with potential partners or buyers for its non-French titles, which are mostly women’s and auto magazines.

“It is certainly a process that will last a very long time... Everything is possible: partnerships, joint ventures, sell-offs,” said an executive from Lagardere, whose flagship Elle has 42 different editions internationally.

“Whatever the outcome of the discussions, the group is keen to retain editorial control of the magazine Elle,” he said.

By late morning shares in the company had risen 1.9 per cent to €28.99 on the Paris stock market.

Lagardere’s non-French magazine stable is worth up to €800 million ($1.05 million), according to the Correspondance de la Presse trade magazine.

Lagardere, which owns Paris Match magazine, last year sold five US magazines, including American Photo and Sound and Vision.