Shipping companies have been keen to make cross-industry acquisitions - airlines, land-based railways, port companies, ship machinery manufacturing ...... By and large, these acquisitions have remained confined to the transport sector.
And lately, shipping companies seem to be eyeing another track - news media.
MSC uses acquisitions to enter the media industry
On 27 March 2024, Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), the world's largest liner shipping company, disclosed that it had signed a preliminary agreement with Gedi Publishing, a subsidiary of John Elkann's Exor, for the acquisition of the Genoese daily newspaper Secolo XIX.
Secolo XIX is understood to be distributed in the Genoa region, which is the capital of Italy's Liguria region and the country's largest port, the second largest on the Mediterranean coast after Marseille.
This preliminary agreement also includes the local shipping media: the Mediterranean shipping portal The MediTelegraph, the Italian maritime weekly L'Avvisatore Marittimo, the West Ligurian newspaper Il Giornale del Ponente Ligure and the shipping magazine Tecnologie Trasporti Mare, covering a wide range of transport sectors including shipping.
CMA CGM creates long-term media division
Just this month, fellow liner giant French shipping company Duffy Lines (CMA CGM) similarly struck a deal for an acquisition in the media sector.
On 15 March local time, French shipping giant Duffy Lines (later referred to as Duffy) announced that it had signed an agreement with Altice France to acquire 100% of Altice Media, a leading French news media company.
The deal will enable Duffy to shape a long-term media division offering the highest quality news, sports and entertainment content, geared towards economic, social and territorial themes with an editorial vision based on diversity, independence and ethics.
Rodolphe Saadé, Chairman and CEO of Duffy, said in the announcement, "With this acquisition, we aspire to long-term growth in the media sector. altice Media is a reference media group with strong growth potential, a talented team and iconic brands."
Altice Media will be jointly acquired by Duffy and Merit France, acquiring 80 per cent and 20 per cent respectively, for a total enterprise value of €1.55 billion.
Completion of the transaction remains subject to consultation with the relevant employee representative bodies of Altice France and regulatory approvals, including those of the Audiovisual and Digital Communications Regulatory Authority (ARCOM) and the relevant competition authorities.
Founded 20 years ago, Altice Media is France's third-largest private sector media group and reference news brand, with more than 13.2 million daily viewers as of January 2024.Altice Media gathers a young audience through its two iconic brands, BFM and RMC, and its differentiated services focused on news. Over the past three years, Altice Media has developed a content-centric, multi-format distribution strategy across three countries, ten local TV channels, three radio stations, a replay platform and an online news platform.
Traditional industries in accelerated transformation
In recent years, shipping giants have turned their attention to the media industry, a shift that may seem far removed from their traditional business, but in fact is underpinned by multiple factors.
First of all, the shipping industry, as a traditional industry, has faced many challenges in recent years. The complexity of the global economic situation, the increasingly stringent environmental regulations and the emergence of new technologies have all had a considerable impact on the shipping industry. Against this backdrop, shipping companies are in dire need of finding new growth points, and the media industry, as a field full of creativity and potential, has naturally become the focus of their attention.
Secondly, the integration between the media industry and the shipping industry can bring many benefits to both parties. Shipping companies have rich resources and experience, while the media industry has strong communication and innovation capabilities. Shipping companies need to make use of the media platform to better promote their brand image and expand their market share; while the media industry can make use of the resources of shipping companies to open up new areas of content creation and improve the quality and influence of their programmes.
Of course, shipping companies also face certain risks and challenges in entering the media industry.
Competition in the media industry is fierce, and a lot of money and human resources need to be invested in creating high-quality content; at the same time, shipping companies need to adapt to the new market environment and learn to use new media tools to interact and communicate with customers.
It is not a coincidence that shipping companies have entered the media industry, but a strategic choice after careful consideration and full preparation. Through cross-border co-operation and innovative development, shipping companies are expected to find new growth points and competitive advantages in the media industry. At the same time, this integration will also bring new vigour and possibilities to the media industry, promoting the progress and development of the whole industry.
https://www.cnss.com.cn/html/shipbuilding/20240401/352718.html
|
Back:
Next:
