CMA CGM acquires French media Brut

The online video outlet Brut now belongs to CMA CGM, the group owned by French Lebanese billionaire Rodolph Saadeh, after the completion of its acquisition was announced Friday.

The deal adds to CMA’s other media holdings, including BFMTV, RMC radio, and the newspapers La Tribune, La Tribune Dimanche, La Provence, and Corse Matin.

“With this transaction, CMA Media has become a key player in the French media landscape, reaching all audiences and covering the entire range of channels: regional and national press, television, radio, and social networks,” CMA Media, the group’s media department, said in a statement.

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CMA Media had said in early July that it was in exclusive talks to buy Brut, a “pure player” in which it was already a shareholder. Brut, which employs around 250 people and reorganized in recent years to cut costs, has been profitable since the last quarter of 2023. To advertisers, the outlet promotes its reach and engagement, particularly among young audiences.

The integration of Brut marks the creation of a third strategic pillar within CMA Media — social platforms — alongside its press and broadcast divisions. The group now represents what it calls the second-largest newsroom in France, and the largest in the private sector, with more than 1,600 journalists.

Brut will continue to be led by Managing Director Elsa Darquier, who will report to Claire Léost, CMA Media’s new CEO and a former Prisma Media executive, appointed president of Brut. Co-founders Renaud Le Van Kim and Guillaume Lacroix “will continue to support Brut’s strategy” as advisers, CMA Media said.

The group is also preparing to acquire the Chérie 25 TV channel from NRJ Group.

For the past three years, Saadé has been steadily reshaping the French media landscape. CMA CGM bought the La Provence group (the dailies La Provence and Corse Matin) in October 2022, then took stakes in the M6 group and in Brut later that year, before assuming control of La Tribune and launching a Sunday edition in 2023. In the summer of 2024, CMA Media acquired BFMTV, RMC, and the DTT channels RMC Découverte and RMC Story from Altice.

CMA CGM grandit encore dans les médias en rachetant Brut