LVMH in talks to buy French daily newspaperLe Parisien

Paris

LUXURY goods group LVMH is in exclusive talks to buy French daily newspaper Le Parisien from media group Amaury, it said on Tuesday, as its looks to consolidate its media business which already includes financial daily Les Echos.

LVMH, owned by France's richest man Bernard Arnault, said the acquisition was subject to consideration by the Amaury works council and was conditional upon approval by the relevant competition authorities. "In the last years, Les Echos has seen a spectacular rise in its results," Les Echos group chief executive Francis Morel told Le Figaro newspaper. "But this success rests on a fragile balance and today middle-sized players like ourselves have difficulty developing. The time is for consolidation." French papers face declining revenues in competition with free papers and Internet media. Both Le Monde and Liberation general newspapers have gone through financial crises recently and there is a consolidation move among regional papers.