The chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of the CMA CGM Group, Rodolphe Saadé aims to expand further into the mass media sector.
After being set to take over the Marseille-based top-selling newspaper La Provence, French media report that Saade is part of a consortium comprising well-known French businessmen bidding to acquire a 48% stake in the country’s largest commercial television station M6.
The 48% stake is held by German media group Bertelsmann, through RTL, and bids close at 14:00 GMT today (23 September).
The stake is up for sale after Bertelsmann called off plans to merge it with French broadcaster TF1.
The other members of the aforementioned consortium are Stephane Courbit of TV production group Banijay, and investor Marc Ladreit de Lacharriere.
French media group Vivendi and Altice, owned by billionaire Patrick Drahi, alongside Italian media conglomerate MediaForEurope are also among potential bidders, according to Reuters.
Like many other major liner operators, CMA CGM reaped record profits amounting to billions of dollars as container freight rates hit historical highs in 2020 and 2021, although rates have since fallen.
Rodolphe Saadé expects shipping demand downturn, while CMA CGM reports another profit jump
Flush with cash, CMA CGM created an air freight unit, CMA CGM Air Cargo, in February 2021, after buying four freighter planes.
Martina Li
Asia Correspondent
