LVMH and B. Arnault Expand Media Influence With New Acquisitions Following Paris Match Deal

LVMH strengthens its power in the media field. The French luxury holding company, led by Bernard Arnault, has taken full control of Bey Médias, publisher of the L’Opinion and L’Agefi media, after acquiring minority shareholders, including the Bettencourt family, through the Thétys holding company, the investor. Agefi, after acquiring the stakes of minority shareholders, including the Bettencourt family, through the Thétys holding company, the American investor Ken Fisher and the Dow Jones group, owned by Rupert Murdoch.

The transaction, the amount of which has not been disclosed, means that the Bey Médias structure will remain autonomous within the LVMH perimeter, according to sources quoted by Le Figaro and confirmed by the AFP agency. Nicolas Beytout, founder and chairman of Bey Médias, will remain at the helm, as will the current editors-in-chief of the titles, Rémi Godeau at L’Opinion and Alexandre Garabedian at L’Agefi.

With this move, Arnault expands its presence in the French publishing ecosystem, just a few months after bringing into the group the historic Paris Match masthead, bought from Lagardère at the end of 2024. LVMH already owned the Les Echos-Le Parisien press group, and had been involved in the L’Opinion project since its origins in 2013, when it participated in its initial financing.

The Bey Médias hólding, which brings together some 150 people, will keep the jobs, as detailed by representatives at the last meeting of the social and economic committee (CSE). L’Opinion has been making a loss, compared with the good performance of L’Agefi, considered a reference in economic and financial information.

LVMH is also the owner of the Les Echos-Le Parisien press group

The move comes after several attempts to open capital, after which LVMH has executed the full purchase of the company to ensure the continuity of the project. For Arnault, the consolidation of its media portfolio is part of a strategy that combines a commitment to major publishing brands with liberal and pro-European titles or economic media.

With this operation, the world luxury leader consolidates its own media ecosystem that complements its industrial activity, in a context of increasing concentration of French media groups in the hands of large fortunes.

LVMH, which posted revenues of over 86 billion euros in 2024, contracted its turnover by 2% in the first quarter of 2025, to €20.3 billion, affected by geopolitical uncertainty and the threat of tariffs. The fashion and leather goods division, the largest in the group, fell by 4% to €10.1 billion, while perfumes and cosmetics and selective distribution managed to maintain stability.