French luxury goods giant LVMH buys Les Echos from FT group

0 Comments | AFP, December, 2007

PARIS (AFP) — French luxury products group LVMH said on Monday it had bought French financial newspaper Les Echos from Britain's Pearson, owner of the Financial Times, and had agreed to sell rival title La Tribune.

The two-way deal had been announced for some time but competition authorities had made LVMH's acquisition of Les Echos conditional on the sale of the rival, but number two French financial title, La Tribune.

On Friday, the French body responsible for competition and the repression of fraud DGCCRF, a part of the economy ministry, cleared the way for LVMH to buy Les Echos.

The Pearson group had announced on November 5 that it would sell the Les Echos group, comprising also a monthly publication called Enjeux and an Internet site, to LVMH for 240...