Vivendi now sees completion of Lagardere deal by end of year

By Olivier Cherfan and Laura Lenkiewicz

(Reuters) -French media giant Vivendi said in its third quarter update on Thursday that it expects its deal to acquire publishing house Lagardere to be finalised by the end of the year, later than initially expected.

The group originally forecast the transaction would be completed by the end of October.

Vivendi has overcome multiple legal hurdles in its bid to acquire Lagardere, including securing EU antitrust approval by selling publishing unit Editis to IMI and its stake in lifestyle magazine Gala to Prisma Media.

The company said the European Commission must now approve these two buyers as suitable purchasers.

"Our Group will then take on a new dimension, with a revenue increase of around 70% thanks, in particular, to the contribution of Hachette, the third-largest trade and educational book publisher, and the travel retail activities," Vivendi's CEO Yannick Bollore said in a statement.

The media conglomerate said its third quarter revenue rose by 3.1% year on year to 2.43 billion euros ($2.57 billion) at constant currency and perimeter, driven by growth at its Canal+ Group and Havas units.

Sales at its advertising business Havas rose 4.5% from a year earlier to 654 million euros, while Canal+ revenues rose 3.9% year on year.

($1 = 0.9456 euros)

(Reporting by Olivier Cherfan and Laura Lenkiewicz; Editing by Susan Fenton)