Magazines, illustrative Credits: Pixabay Luxury giant LVMH announced on Tuesday it has acquired the magazines Challenges, Sciences et Avenir and La Recherche as planned. According to a statement, the group intends to ensure their “longevity”. Businessman Claude Perdriel, who was the majority shareholder until now, had agreed to the sale for a symbolic one euro. He has now retired from the press at the age of 99, after sixty years in the industry. LVMH, owned by billionaire Bernard Arnault, had already acquired a 40 percent stake in Éditions Croque Futur in 2020. The company publishes the three titles. “This acquisition will enable Éditions Croque Futur to boost the development and distribution of its three titles, particularly in digital, and thus contribute to their longevity,” LVMH stated. The group also aims to “promote quality information and scientific culture, as well as its popularisation”. However, in a joint statement, the journalist societies of the three magazines, their union representatives and the social and economic committee (CSE) described the sale as a “leap into the void”. They added that “a real sense of mistrust has developed” towards LVMH. In November, the editorial teams of Challenges, Sciences et Avenir and La Recherche had asked Bernard Arnault to sign their “charters of independence” in their current form. They claim this request was unsuccessful. On Tuesday, they and the union representatives again demanded “tokens of goodwill”. These included: “credible future prospects; clear commitments on employment; the signing of Challenges' current charter of independence; and similar guarantees…
