One of France’s richest men and a powerful German media dynasty are battling to win approval for a corporate union that would reshape European broadcasting and overturn what was thought possible in television dealmaking.
If it is approved later this year, the merger of Martin Bouygues’ broadcaster TF1 and its smaller rival M6, owned by Germany’s Bertelsmann, could pave the way for a wave of mergers across the continent.
But the deal hinges on one essential condition that is far from assured: the green light from competition regulators to bring together what are France’s two biggest private broadcasters, creating a dominant force in national free-to-air television advertising with a market share of some 70 per cent.