Vivendi hit with additional EU antitrust charges over Lagardere deal

By Foo Yun Chee

BRUSSELS, July 3 (Reuters) - Vivendi was hit with additional EU antitrust charges on Friday related to its 2023 acquisition of publisher Lagardere as regulators strengthened their case that could lead to a hefty fine for the French media conglomerate.

The European Commission, which acts as the EU competition enforcer, had in July last year charged Vivendi with breaching merger rules for acquiring Lagardere before first securing its approval.

The regulator has subsequently sent a supplementary statement of objections.

"The SSO follows an earlier Statement of Objections from July 2025 and provides new significant evidence, and related explanations," a Commission spokesperson said in an email.

The scope of the infringement is largely the same as set out in the 2025 charges.

Vivendi can seek a closed-door hearing to defend itself before the Commission decides on the case. It risks a fine of as much as 10% of its global annual revenue if found guilty of breaking EU rules.

The EU antitrust watchdog takes a tough line against gun-jumping and other procedural violations and has in recent years handed out stiff fines.

The Lagardere deal was approved by the Commission prior to the charges of gun-jumping.

(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee, Editing by Louise Heavens)