"L'appétit vient en mangeant"
The Hersant Publishing Group is eyeing the Western Swiss newspaper market
The Hersant publishing group is showing its appetite for the French-speaking Swiss press marketBy Anita Vaucher Edipresse, the local hero in western Switzerland, is definitely facing serious competition. The French publishing group Hersant already gained a foothold in French-speaking Switzerland last summer. The two regional newspapers in Neuchâtel are unlikely to be the last that Hersant wants to buy.
The Société Neuchâteloise de Presse (SNP), which publishes the two regional newspapers L'Express de Neuchâtel and L'Impartial, is currently negotiating a majority takeover of the Neuchâtel publishing house with the French publishing group Hersant. Hersant already acquired the regional paper La Côte in French-speaking Switzerland last year.
Fabien Wolfrath, who took over the family business SNP from his father together with his brother Christian in 1978, decided to take this step because there were no suitable offspring to continue the publishing house.
Some of SNP's partners, such as PubliGroupe and the Journal du Jura, which heard the news on the eve of the official announcement, were particularly surprised by the negotiations. According to SNP, however, the contract will not be finalized for several months.
For the regional newspapers, this deal, if it actually comes to fruition, would be a warning and at the same time an unmistakable call to work even more closely together in order to show joint strength.
Finally, the Romandie-Combi, the joint advertising platform of the various regional newspapers in French-speaking Switzerland, would also be at risk if the French-speaking Swiss press market were to be split between the French group and Edipresse in future.
The latter is following the latest negotiations with a frown. The superiority of the largest publishing group in French-speaking Switzerland inevitably arouses the interest of the Competition Commission. Edipresse already had to learn this bitterly last year, when the publishing house also showed interest in La Côte, but was told no by the Competition Commission. And as the Competition Commission is still keeping an eye on Edipresse's activities, Hersant clearly has the better cards, at least for the time being, and can look for other acquisition targets in French-speaking Switzerland unhindered for the time being.
The Société Neuchâteloise de Presse (SNP), which publishes the two regional newspapers L'Express de Neuchâtel and L'Impartial, is currently negotiating a majority takeover of the Neuchâtel publishing house with the French publishing group Hersant. Hersant already acquired the regional paper La Côte in French-speaking Switzerland last year.
Fabien Wolfrath, who took over the family business SNP from his father together with his brother Christian in 1978, decided to take this step because there were no suitable offspring to continue the publishing house.
Some of SNP's partners, such as PubliGroupe and the Journal du Jura, which heard the news on the eve of the official announcement, were particularly surprised by the negotiations. According to SNP, however, the contract will not be finalized for several months.
For the regional newspapers, this deal, if it actually comes to fruition, would be a warning and at the same time an unmistakable call to work even more closely together in order to show joint strength.
Finally, the Romandie-Combi, the joint advertising platform of the various regional newspapers in French-speaking Switzerland, would also be at risk if the French-speaking Swiss press market were to be split between the French group and Edipresse in future.
The latter is following the latest negotiations with a frown. The superiority of the largest publishing group in French-speaking Switzerland inevitably arouses the interest of the Competition Commission. Edipresse already had to learn this bitterly last year, when the publishing house also showed interest in La Côte, but was told no by the Competition Commission. And as the Competition Commission is still keeping an eye on Edipresse's activities, Hersant clearly has the better cards, at least for the time being, and can look for other acquisition targets in French-speaking Switzerland unhindered for the time being.
