The Competition Authority has given the green light for Xavier Niel, head of the Free group, to acquire a stake in the Nice-Matin group.

The Competition Authority, an independent administrative authority responsible for combating anticompetitive practices, was tasked with examining the exclusive acquisition of the Nice-Matin group (including Nice-Matin, Var-Matin, and Monaco-Matin) by the holding company NJJ, owned by the founder of Free, Xavier Niel. NJJ also holds controlling stakes in Le Monde and L’Obs.

Did this operation involving regional publications result in overlapping activities in the print media sector? No, the institution answers.