German media group Bertelsmann's (BTGGg.F), opens new tab CEO Thomas Rabe hopes to revive the aborted merger between French broadcasters M6 (MMTP.PA), opens new tab and TF1 (TFFP.PA), opens new tab within the next two to three years, he told the Financial Times in an interview published on Tuesday. In 2022, M6 Group and TF1 abandoned plans to join forces saying antitrust requests made the deal irrelevant. The deal would have seen French conglomerate Bouygues (BOUY.PA), opens new tab taking a 30% controlling stake in the merged entity, and M6's parent, Bertelsmann as the second-biggest shareholder with a 16% holding.
Rabe told FT he would be willing to revisit the merger "as soon as regulators indicate they are willing to take a more open-minded approach". Bertelsmann on Tuesday confirmed the CEO's comments to FT. The European Union recently indicated plans to relax its approach to corporate regulations. Earlier this year, it disclosed plans to propose at least five sets of legislation to spur investment and simplify regulation on companies. Any new merger attempt involving M6 and TF1 in the coming years would also need approval from the French broadcast regulator Arcom, as current law prohibits the sale of a TV channel within five years of its license renewal. Both broadcasters had their licenses renewed in 2023. A tie-up between the two firms would create a streaming company that would be able to compete with U.S. platforms like Netflix (NFLX.O), opens new tab and Apple TV+, Rabe said. Bouygues told Reuters it shared Rabe's view that a combination of TF1 and M6 still had merit "when the legal and regulatory conditions permit it." TF1 and M6 currently have a combined market value of 3.6 billion euros ($4.15 billion). Their combined revenue was at 3.7 billion euros in 2024, the FT said. ($1 = 0.8667 euros)
