La Martinière Groupe, the French parent company of Abrams, is in advanced discussions to merge with fellow French publisher Média‐Participations. The two companies confirmed last week that they were in talks and that they expect to come to an agreement "in the coming months."
With sales of 355 million euros, Média‐Participations is the larger of the two companies; its divisions include Fleurs, Dargaud, Dupuis, Lombard and Editions Anne Carriere. In addition to trade book publishing, the company also owns magazines, a videogame company and has a large presence in comic books.
La Martinière has annual revenue of 206 million euros and, in addition to Abrams, its holdings include Le Seuil and Editions de La Martinière.
In a statement, Herve de La Martinière, founder of the company that bears his name, said: "We are considering our options for a closer connection between our two groups, in the form of an exchange of shares. I need to think about the future of the house I founded 25 years ago."
Vincent Montange, CEO of Média‐Participations, said the strengths of the two companies "are extremely complementary" and that the combination of the two would create a "very diverse group of significant size."
