Bertelsmann becomes sole owner of French media club France Loisirs / DirectGroup takes over Vivendi's 50 percent holding

Paris/Gütersloh (PROTEXT/ots) - Effective July 1, DirectGroupBertelsmann has taken over the 50-percent share of the media clubFrance Loisirs that formerly belonged to the Vivendi UniversalPublishing, part of the French media conglomerate Vivendi. Thismeans that Bertelsmann is now the sole owner of the French bookclub. France Loisirs is the market leader among French clubbusinesses. By taking this step, Bertelsmann is ensuring thecontinuity of its Club business in France. The French media club France Loisirs has been a 50:50 jointventure between Bertelsmann and Vivendi Universal Publishing, forwhich Bertelsmann has always provided the management, currentlyheaded by CEO Marc-Oliver Sommer. France Loisirs also doesbusiness in Belgium (Belgique Loisirs), Switzerland (SuisseLoisirs) and in Canada (Quebec Loisirs). "The takeover underscores the central meaning Bertelsmannassigns to media clubs in the worldwide distribution of mediaproducts. It is hard to imagine a more valuable customer in mediabusiness than a registered Club member. Our 100% takeover ofFrance Loisirs is a fantastic opportunity to continuestrengthening our position in media distribution. We will do soby resolutely interweaving the various distribution paths, i.e.the Internet, stores and catalogs, and by aligning the businessesto target audiences with specific interests. The takeover of allshares in France Loisirs gives us free rein for all managementdecisions," declares Dr. Klaus Eierhoff, DirectGroup CEO andBertelsmann Board Member. With over 3.8 million members, France Loisirs Paris is notonly the market leader among media clubs in France. FranceLoisirs is also the No. 2 DirectGroup Bertelsmann club businessin terms of membership, second only to Bookspan in the US (11million). Each year, the French media club sells some 26 millionbooks. In FY 2000, it generated revenues of 472.6m Eur. The clubwith its approximately 200 stores has been profitable for years,and is one of the leading multi-channel providers in thedistribution of media products. In addition to selling books, music, videos and games, FranceLoisirs offers added services such as magazine subscriptions,photo processing, travel ("Voyages Loisirs"), financial servicesand an event service. Exclusive Club premieres in the fictionsegment further enhance France Loisirs' appeal. One currentexample of this is Nicci French's novel "Feu de Glace," whichtops the charts at 500,000 copies sold. As part of the negotiations with Vivendi surrounding thetakeover of the 50% share in France Loisirs, it was agreed todiscontinue the BOL service. In the medium term, an Internet-based bookfinder service for France Loisirs members will beinstalled in France. Most BOL employees will find continuedemployment with Vivendi or Bertelsmann subsidiaries. "France is one of Europe's most important book and mediadistribution markets. France Loisirs is a powerful brand withgreat popular appeal. Its nearly 5 million members make it thebiggest French-speaking book community. That is why we areextending our Club business by expanding the services, launchinga special-interest club and modernizing the chain stores.Alongside the universal club approach, we will be positioningFrance Loisirs as an offline- and online-driven segment- andcommunity-based vendor," emphasizes Marc-Oliver Sommer, CEO ofFrance Loisirs and DirectGroup Bertelsmann Division Board Memberin charge of Clubs/BOL in Western and Southern Europe. DirectGroup Bertelsmann: DirectGroup Bertelsmann has been in charge of Bertelsmann AG'sdirect-to-customer businesses since July 2000. DirectGroupcomprises the worldwide book and music clubs as well as theglobal e-commerce businesses, and altogether represents a totalof roughly 60 million customers and members all over the world.Bertelsmann is the global market leader among media clubs and,with BOL, CDNow and BN.com, is the worldwide No.2 in terms ofmedia e-commerce activities. The DirectGroup is one of the threesupporting pillars in Bertelsmann's overall strategy, alongsideContent and Services. Dr. Klaus Eierhoff heads the Group, whosetotal revenues for fiscal year 2000/01 are projected to beapproximately DM 7bn. The division does business in 22 countries,has 15,000 employees, and contributes a great deal to theinternationality of the Bertelsmann Group. About the France Loisirs media club: France Loisirs is a wholly owned Bertelsmann subsidiary. Thecompany has nearly 5 million French-speaking members, and leadsthe book and recreational products market in France, Belgium,Switzerland, and Quebec. It is also the leading book club inFrance, where one in 5 households is a member in the club (3.8million members). France Loisirs is also the leading multi-channel distributor in France (200 stores, a website etc.). Marc-Oliver Sommer is CEO of the France Loisirs group, which employs astaff of 3,500 and had revenues of 472.6m EUR in 2000. otsOriginaltext: DirectGroup Bertelsmann Interne:http://www.presseportal.de Rocco Thiede, Spokesman, DirectGroupBertelsmann, Tel.: +49 (0) 5241 / 80-4 24 02 E-Mail:Rocco.Thiede@bertelsmann.de Christine Mouchon, Head of PublicRelations, France Loisirs S.A.R.L., Tel.: +33 (0) 1 / 45 68 62 13E-Mail: mouchon@france-loisirs.com

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