French newspaper Le Monde voted for new ownership today when its supervisory board backed a consortium offer led by Lazard banker Matthieu Pigasse, the head of Le Monde's journalists' association said.
The vote paved the way for exclusive negotiations between the 65-year-old newspaper and the left-leaning trio of Mr Pigasse, Xavier Niel and Pierre Berge who are offering €110 million to help stem losses and repay debts.
The final tally was 11 votes for and 9 abstentions, Gilles Van Kote said. A subordinate board with 18 seats also backed the Pigasse-led bid with 13 votes for and 5 abstentions, he said, adding: "There were no votes against."
Mr Pigasse's joint bid with Mr Niel and wealthy industrialist Mr Berge was the only offer left after a rival consortium led by Nouvel Observateur magazine owner Claude Perdriel pulled out today.
Mr Perdriel and bid partners France Telecom and Spanish media group Prisa were left little choice after staff at Le Monde voted massively in favour of the Pigasse-led bid on Friday.
Mr Perdriel's team was seen as the preferred choice of French President Nicolas Sarkozy who had threatened to withdraw state subsidies if Le Monde went with the more left-leaning Pigasse consortium.
Reuters