A 42% stake in women’s magazine group Marie-Claire is to be sold to Hachette Filipachi Medias (HFM), the magazine publishing division of Lagardere Group. Whilst the terms of the deal were not disclosed, an offer from HFM in November last year valued a 17% stake at €90 million, effectively putting €534 million price tag on the group as a whole. This is 24 times 1999 profit, according to analysts at ABN Amro.
Marie-Claire is the second largest women’s magazine publisher in France, with over 40 titles including Marie-Claire, Cosmopolitan and Advantage. In 1999 the group reported revenues of €151 million and net profit of €22 million.
