Our history

1826

Louis Hachette (1800-1864) buys Brédif, a Paris bookstore and lays lays the foundation for what is today one of Hachette’s main areas of activity in the media sector: book publishing, the press and distribution.

1852

Louis Hachette was one first people in France to publish an entertainment magazine, Le Journal pour Tous, aimed at the general reader.

1855

Louis Hachette is one of the first publishers in France to bring out a magazine designed to entertain the general public: Le Journal Pour Tous.

1863

Louis Hachette begins to publish the Dictionary of the French Language by his friend Littré.

1864

Death of Louis Hachette.

1897

Creation of Messageries Hachette, a major book and print media distribution company in France.

1900

Launch of the first bookstores on the Paris metro.

1905

Acquisition of a 100% stake in AGLP, a wholesaler and retail bookseller with outlets in South America and the major European countries.

1945

Creation of Matra (Mécanique Aviation TRAction). The company starts work on researching and developing a twin-engine plane designed to have a maximum speed of 800 km/h (the fastest propeller plane in the world).

Hachette launches Elle and the earliest titles in its current group of publications.

1951

The sound barrier is broken in horizontal flight for the first time in Europe by a special Matra engine (Mach 1.4).

1953

In partnership with Henri Filipacchi, Hachette launches the Livre de Poche imprint, which remains a market leader today.

1961

The European space programme begins. Matra becomes the first prime contractor for satellites.

1963

Jean-Luc Lagardère is appointed CEO of Matra, which at the time has a workforce of 1,450.

1967

The Matra 530 is presented at the Geneva Motor Show.

1972

Matra is appointed prime contractor for its first automated urban transport system, the VAL.

1974

Third consecutive victory in the Le Mans 24-hour rally and second manufacturers’ World Championship title for Matra-Simca.

1975

Matra wins a contract from the CNES and the ESA to build the loading bay for the new European launcher Ariane.

1981

Jean-Luc Lagardère takes over the reins of Hachette.

1983

The first VAL automated metro line opens in Lille.

Matra Automobile launches the first “one-box” vehicle, the Espace, under the Renault brand.

1985

Hachette launches the Relais H. trading name.

1987

Europe 1, which has been controlled by Hachette since 1986, launches Europe 2 and begins to develop outside France.

1988

Europe 1, which has been controlled by Hachette since 1986, launches Europe 2 and begins to develop outside France.

1989

Spanish government names Matra prime contractor for Hispasat telecom satellite.

Creation of the Jean-Luc Lagardère Foundation dedicated to the Group’s sponsorship activities in the fields of culture, community and youth.

1990

Matra Espace and the aerospace division of GEC Marconi merge to create Matra Marconi Space, the leading aerospace company in Europe.

1991

Launch of the new generation Espace, developed and manufactured in close partnership with Renault.

1992

After a year of massive restructuring, Matra Hachette is created from the takeover of Hachette by Matra, and the Lagardère group is created as the umbrella company for the whole group.

Strategic alliance between Matra Communication and Northern Telecom. This partnership will allow Matra to continue to grow and to strengthen its international strategy in the telecommunications field.

1993

Hachette Livre launches the first multimedia encyclopaedia, Axis.

1994

The group enters the multimedia sector. Matra Hachette Multimédia launches Epsis, the first image substitution process designed for advertising. The 400,000th Espace leaves the Romorantin factory.

Matra Marconi space acquires British Aerospace’s space division, making it the leading European space group and the third-largest in the world.

1995

Hachette Distribution Services acquires Canada’s leading newsstand chain, UCS, and becomes the third-largest operator in the retail press sector.

Elle celebrates its 50th anniversary, extending its influence to 26 countries around the world.

1996

Matra Défense and BAe Dynamics merge to form the new company Matra BAe Dynamics, the leading weapons manufacturer in Europe and the third largest in the world.

Hachette Livre acquires the Hatier group, France’s third-largest educational publisher.

1997

Hachette Livre sweeps the board at the year’s literary prize ceremonies:

• The Prix Goncourt and Prix de l’Académie Française for La Bataille by Patrick Rambaud (Grasset).
• The Prix Renaudot for Les Voleurs de Beauté by Pascal Bruckner (Grasset).
• The Prix Médicis (foreign-language publications) for America by T.C. Boyle (Grasset).

Merger of Hachette Filipacchi Presse and Filipacchi Médias to become Hachette Filipacchi Médias.

The third-generation Espace is a roaring success in Europe, with 54,072 orders, 41% in France and 59% on the export market.

1998

Creation of Hachette Multimédia, combining Hachette Livre’s multimedia business and Grolier Interactive’s online educational services.

International growth of Hachette Livre with the acquisitions of the British firms Orion and Cassell.

Merger of the activities of Aerospatiale and Matra Hautes Technologies, which officially become Aerospatiale Matra on 11 June 1999.

Launch of Europe Infos by Europe 1 and Club-Internet, the leading non-stop Internet information service in French.

1999

Acquisition of 80% of Rusconi Editore in Italy.

Arnaud Lagardère is named president of Europe 1 Communication.

Aerospatiale Matra is quoted on the stock market for the first time.

2000

Strategic alliance between Lagardère and Deutsche Telekom regarding Internet access: merger of T-Online and Club-Internet.

Hachette Distribution Services (HDS) launches Relay on 11 January 2000, the international sales outlet for press publications in freight transport areas.

The Lagardère and Canal + groups form an alliance on digital television.

Creation of EADS (European Aeronautic Defence and Space company) on 10 July 2000 from the merger of Aérospatiale Matra SA, Aeronauticas SA and DaimlerChrysler Aerospace AG.

Official launch of the A380 programme.

2001

Hachette Livre acquires the Spanish educational publisher Bruño and strengthens its international development in the key education sector.

Hachette Filipacchi Médias continues to grow, taking a 42% share in the Marie-Claire group.

Lagardère acquires the Virgin Stores brand and Virgin Megastore stores in France via its subsidiary Hachette Distribution Services (HDS).

Hachette Livre acquires Octopus Publishing, one of Britain’s leading publishers of illustrated books.

2002

Launch of Version Femina, the first weekly European women’s magazine.

HFM acquires the British magazine publisher Attic Futura.

Virgin opens its doors in Barbès (Paris), the 31st Virgin Stores outlet in France.

2003

Livre de Poche celebrates its 50th anniversary.

Lagardère puts all of its shareholdings in Renault up for sale. Death of Jean-Luc Lagardère and appointment of Arnaud Lagardère as managing partner of Lagardère SCA.

Décès de Jean-Luc Lagardère et nomination d’Arnaud Lagardère au titre de Gérant Commandité de Lagardère SCA.

3,000th issue of Elle.

Launch of the magazine Public.

Lagardère sells its automobile engineering activities to the Italian group Pininfarina.

2004

Lagardère acquires 40% of Editis (from Vivendi Universal Publishing).

Over five million copies of Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code, published by JC Lattès (Hachette Livre), sold throughout the world.

Launch of Filles TV, the first cable channel aimed at teenage girls.

Acquisition of the British publisher Hodder Headline by Hachette Livre.

Le Journal de Mickey celebrates its 70th anniversary.

2005

Inaugural flight of the A380 in Toulouse.

Launch of the channels Europe 2 and Gulli (the latter in partnership with France Télévisions) on free DTT.

Celebration of 60 years of Elle.

Creation of Team Lagardère, a scientific and technical programme designed to support sports performance.

Celebration at the Maison de la Culture in Paris of the centenary of Japan’s oldest magazine, Fujingaho (HFM).

2006

Hachette Livre acquires American publisher Time Warner Books.

Lagardère Group raises its stake in Canal+ to 20%.

Bibliothèque Rose celebrates 150 years.

HDS Digital kiosk opens at Relay and Virgin Mega sites, giving web users the option of downloading a broad range of press titles

Lagardère Group becomes the new franchisee of the Croix Catelan sports and entertainment site (Bois de Boulogne, Paris) for a twenty-year period.

Pooling of the Group’s magazine-publishing and audiovisual and digital activities is announced. Hachette Filipacchi Médias and Lagardère Active are merged under the Lagardère Active name and transformed into companies with an Executive Board and a Supervisory Board, headed by Didier Quillot.

Lagardère acquires Sportfive, the leading European sports rights management company.

Issue of ORAPA (adjustable-parity convertible bonds) by Lagardère SCA, involving 7.5% of EADS’ capital.

2007

Arnaud Lagardère announces the Group’s reorganization around four major institutional brands: Lagardère Publishing, Lagardère Active, Lagardère Services, and Lagardère Sports, a new branch created with the acquisition of Sportfive.

New acquisitions for Lagardère Active in the digital field, with NextIdea, ID Régie, and Jumpstart Automative Media.

Lagardère Services racks up acquisitions and point-of-sale openings in Eastern Europe and Asia.

Development of Lagardère Sports: partners with the African Soccer Confederation and acquires IEC In Sports and Upsolut.

Lagardère Publishing acquires Grupo Patria Cultural (Mexico), Piatkus Books (England), and Pika, a French manga publisher.

ELLE extends its international network, with its 41st publication launched in Indonesia.

2008

Lagardère Sports acquires a majority stake in World Sport Group, the top sports agency in Asia.

Lagardère Active buys out Doctissimo and 100% of the group, Psychologies.

Lagardère Entertainment, a subsidiary of Lagardère Active, is created, and specializes in audiovisual production and broadcasting.

The Twilight saga by Stephenie Meyer is an unprecedented publishing success for Lagardère Publishing.

PR Event, the company that owns and organizes the ATP and WTA tournaments in Bastad, Sweden, joins Lagardère Sports.

Lagardère Publishing acquires Numilog, the #1 French platform for the distribution of e-books.

Lagardère Publishing acquires a majority stake in Editions Albert René, the publisher of Astérix.

Lagardère Services acquires Delstar and News & Gifts in the US.

2009

Lagardère Unlimited is created. The company specializes in managing the rights and commercial use of sports figures’ and entertainers’ images.

Sportfive is awarded management of European media rights for the 2014 Winter Olympics and 2016 Summer Olympics.

La Fondation Jean-Luc Lagardère fête ses 20 ans.

The Jean-Luc Lagardère Foundation celebrates 20 years.

Lagardère Publishing continues to post sales records for the Twilight saga by Stephenie Meyer.

Lagardère Publishing and Lightning Source enter into a joint venture for on-demand printing.

Lagardère Services increases its presence in Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore, China, and Taiwan after acquiring many point-of-sale franchises.

Europe 1 becomes the #3 radio station in France in terms of aggregate audience.

Paris Match celebrates 60 years.

2010

Lagardère Active launches Be, a new global media brand.

Lagardère Publishing is one of the major publishing groups to partner with iBooks, iPad’s book application.

Seventeen years after the creation of the limited partnership disputed by an American activist, the SCA (the French limited partnership with shares ) was confirmed by nearly 80% of shareholders at the Shareholders’ Meeting on April 27, 2010.

The Lagardère Sports branch becomes Lagardère Unlimited and acquires Best, a US company specialized in representing sports figures and celebrities.

Lagardère Publishing publishes L’appel du sang – La Seconde vie de Bree Tanner (The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner), the newest title in Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight saga.

Lagardère Active and YouTube sign a strategic partnership to broadcast video on the web.

Lagardère Services Asia Pacific (LS ASPAC) and Aelia are awarded operation of one of the top multi-brand fashion stores at Changi Airport (Singapore).

The Seventh and last Jean-Luc Lagardère Trophy, the French leg of the ATP Champions Tour, played host to numerous world tennis legends between 2004 and 2010

2011

Lagardère Services restructures itself into four divisions: LS Distribution; LS Travel Retail EMEA (Europe, Middle East & Africa); LS Travel Retail ASPAC (Asia Pacific) and LS Travel Retail North America.

The Lagardère group sells its international magazine press activities, while maintaining full ownership of the Elle brand worldwide.

Lagardère Services and Aéroports de Paris extend their partnership within Société de Distribution Aéroportuaire (SDA), a company operating retail outlets at Paris-Charles-de-Gaulle and Paris-Orly airports.

Hachette Livre owns 100% of Éditions Albert René, giving it full rights to the Asterix franchise (publishing, broadcast, merchandising etc.)

Creation of Lagardère Unlimited Live Entertainment, bringing together the Group’s activities in live entertainment (production of live shows, venue management and talent representation).

Hachette Livre signs an agreement with Google for the scanning of its out-of-print works in French, the rights to which are controlled by Hachette Livre.

Record audience for the Borgia series (produced by Atlantique Productions, a subsidiary of Lagardère Entertainment) in France, Germany, Italy and Spain. The series has been sold to more than 40 countries.

Lagardère Unlimited Stadium Solutions strengthens its expertise by acquiring the operations of Stadia Consulting Group.

Europe 1 is confirmed as France’s most popular radio station in terms of podcast downloads.

2012

Lagardère Unlimited acquires US company Gaylord Sports Management, which specialises in the representation of athletes, as well as Sports Marketing and Management, an Australian sports marketing agency specialising in Olympic sports.

LS Travel Retail acquires Unimex, the Duty Free and Fashion operations at Ruzyne airport in Prague.

Paris Match is awarded the prize for Magazine of the year by Syndicat de la Presse Magazine.

Lagardère Active acquires the LeGuide group, Europe’s No. 1 in shopping guides.

Little, Brown Book Group (United Kingdom), Little, Brown and Company (United States) and Grasset (France) publish A Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter books.

Lagardère Services acquires AdR Retail, the Duty Free operations at Aeroporti di Roma, and Duty Free Stores Wellington Ltd, Duty Free operations in New Zealand and Australia.

The Lagardère group successfully launches a €500 million five-year bond issue.

Launch by Lagardère Unlimited Live Entertainment of Salut les copains at the Folies Bergère theatre in Paris.

Publication in France, by Éditions JC Lattès, of the first book in the Fifty Shades trilogy by E.L. James.

2013

Launch by Lagardère Unlimited Live Entertainment of D.I.S.C.O., The Musical Event.

Lagardère Active acquires BilletRéduc.com, an online ticketing service (market leader in France in discount reservations).

Sportfive Afrique is the exclusive agency for marketing and media rights for the Orange Africa Cup of Nations, South Africa 2013.

Éditions JC Lattès publish books two and three in the Fifty Shades trilogy.

The Lagardère group sells its entire stake in EADS and Canal+ France.

Relay wins the call for tenders by SNCF to operate 307 retail outlets until 2014.

Lagardère Entertainment becomes France’s No. 1 production company.

LS Travel Retail and Aeroporti di Roma open a 4,800 m2 retail space at Fiumicino airport (Italy).

Éditions Albert René publishes Astérix chez les Pictes (“Asterix and the Picts“), the 35th book in the Asterix series, in 23 “major” languages worldwide.

2014

Lagardère Services wins two major tenders to operate 25 stores at Warsaw Airport (Poland).

Lagardère Entertainment acquires Groupe Réservoir (Réservoir Prod).

Lagardère Unlimited acquires the celebrated Casino de Paris performance venue.

Hachette UK acquires publishing houses Constable & Robinson and Quercus.

Lagardère Services finalizes the acquisition of the Italian food services group Airest.

Hachette Book Group and Amazon announce the signing of a multi-year agreement concerning the marketing of e-books and printed books in the United States.

Lagardère Unlimited organises the first edition of the BNP Paribas WTA Finals tennis tournament presented by SC Global in Singapore.

Lagardère Active completes the acquisition of France Télévisions’ shares in Gulli.

2015

Launch of Gulli Africa and Europe 1 Plus.

Lagardère Studios (formerly Lagardère Entertainment) acquires the Spanish audiovisual production group Grupo Boomerang TV and makes its partnership with the platform Diffa (International Distribution of Films and Fiction from Africa) official.

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) and Lagardère Sports and Entertainment renew their partnership agreement, including the principle tournaments organized by the CAF, for a period of 12 years (2017-2028).

Lagardère Services is renamed Lagardère Travel Retail.

Éditions JC Lattès publishes the fourth volume of E L James’s Fifty Shades of Grey saga.

Lagardère Travel Retail signs an agreement on the acquisition of Paradies, a leading Travel Retailer present in over 76 airports in North America.

Lagardère Sports and Entertainment (formerly Lagardère Unlimited) acquires the Bataclan theater.

Éditions Albert René publishes Asterix and the Missing Scroll, the 36^th Asterix comic book.

2016

Lagardère Sports strengthens its consulting business through the acquisition of Sponsorship 360 (France) and Rooftop2 Productions (United States).

Lagardère Publishing acquires US publishing group Perseus, together with UK-based Neon Play and Brainbow, specialists in mobile applications.

Lagardère Studios launches Imagissime, a production company specialising in documentaries; Lagardère Active launches Elle Girl TV.

Lagardère Travel Retail opens Aelia Duty Free stores at London Luton airport (United Kingdom) and in the new Avancorpo terminal at Fiumcino airport in Rome (Italy).

Lagardère Travel Retail wins several concessions in the United Arab Emirates (Abu Dhabi airport) and in Saudi Arabia (King Khaled airport in Riyadh, King Fahd airport in Dammam and King Abdulaziz airport in Jeddah).

Lagardère Active Radio International establishes itself in Cambodia by acquiring 49% of the capital of LVMG, the owner of two radio networks.

During the UEFA Euro 2016 tournament in France, Lagardère Sports creates the first ISO 20121 certified fan zone (international standard for environmentally responsible event management).

Lagardère Sports brokers a title sponsorship deal with Total for the Confédération Africaine de Football’s (CAF) ten principal competitions as well as Orange’s new eight-year partnership as an official sponsor of CAF.

Little, Brown Book Group publishes Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne and John Tiffany in the United Kingdom and throughout the Commonwealth.

In the United States, Lagardère Publishing launches a new programme to verify the fibres used for its paper. The programme is progressively extended to all Lagardère Publishing entities.

2017

Lagardère Travel Retail finalises its withdrawal from the Press Distribution business that it launched in 2014. The division is now a pure player and global leader in Travel Retail.

Hachette UK makes several acquisitions, including Bookouture, the leading UK e-book publisher, and Summersdale, a publishing house.

Guillaume Musso, the most widely read French novelist in the world, joins publishing house Calmann-Lévy.

Lagardère Live Entertainment wins the tender to operate the Pays d’Aix Arena (France).

Lagardère Travel Retail enters the Cambodian market (Phnom Penh and Siem Reap airports) and the African continent (Blaise-Diagne airport in Dakar, Senegal).

Le Journal du Dimanche is voted France’s Best Daily Press Title at the 2017 CB News Media Awards.

Astérix et la Transitalique, the 37^th instalment of the Asterix series, is published in 25 countries.

Lagardère Studios acquires audiovisual production company Aito Media Group (Finland).

Lagardère Sports and Entertainment launches Lagardère Plus, a global partnership marketing agency with a mission to help brands transform traditional sponsorships into highly impactful marketing platforms.

Lagardère Publishing invests in Educapital, the first European investment fund dedicated to education and training.

Paris Match launches an African edition following the success of its Belgium and Switzerland versions.

Launch of the LL Network to promote diversity in all businesses and gender equality across the Lagardère group, with initiatives including mentoring, master classes and networking events.

2018

In France, Lagardère Live Entertainment inaugurates and starts operating the Arkéa Arena (formerly the Bordeaux Métropole Arena).

Lagardère Travel Retail pledges to stop using eggs from battery hens by 2025 throughout its worldwide network.

Deployment of the Group’s strategic refocusing around two priority areas, Lagardère Publishing and Lagardère Travel Retail.

The media operations retained by the Group (Paris Match, Le Journal du Dimanche, Europe 1, Virgin Radio, RFM and the Elle brand licence) are combined within Lagardère News.

Implementation of the media asset disposal plan (excluding Lagardère News) and beginning of the disposal process for Lagardère Sports.

In the Netherlands, Lagardère Studios acquires independent audiovisual production company Skyhigh TV.

Lagardère Publishing releases La Jeune Fille et la Nuit, by Guillaume Musso, and The President is Missing, by Bill Clinton and James Patterson.

Lagardère Sports successfully delivers services to the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games, including sponsorship, hospitality and broadcast rights sales.

Sale of the interest in Marie Claire.

Completion of the sale of the Radio assets in the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia and Romania.

Lagardère Publishing acquires publishing houses La Plage (France) and Worthy Publishing Group (United States).

Finalisation of the sale of the e-Health business (Doctissimo and MonDocteur).

Lagardère Travel Retail wins the tender for the operation of 28 Smullers (Foodservice) restaurants across the Dutch rail network.

Lagardère Travel Retail completes the acquisition of Hojeij Branded Foods (HBF), a leading Foodservice Travel Retail operator in North America.

The Lagardère group initiates the disposal process for Lagardère Sports and Lagardère Plus.

Alongside 29 other companies and organisations, Lagardère launches #StOpE to combat everyday sexism in the workplace.

2019

Lagardère Publishing acquires French companies Gigamic (board game creator, publisher and distributor) and Blackrock Games (board game distributor).

Completion of the sale of the main digital assets (Boursier.com, BilletReduc.com, Plurimedia, Doctipharma).

Disposal of radio assets in South Africa, Senegal and Cambodia.

Finalisation of the sale of the magazine publishing titles in France (excluding Lagardère News) and of the stake in Disney Hachette Presse.

Hachette Livre Chairman and CEO Arnaud Nourry signs an agreement with the charitable association NQT (Nos Quartiers ont des Talents), extending the partnership designed to help young people from modest neighbourhoods gain access to training and employment opportunities. Lagardère has partnered NQT since its creation in 2006.

Lagardère Publishing publishes La Vie secrète des écrivains by Guillaume Musso (Calmann-Levy) and La Fille de Vercingétorix, the 38^th Asterix album (Éditions Albert René).

Disposal of Lagardère Active’s Television business and of the stake in Mezzo.

Paradies Lagardère (subsidiary of Lagardère Travel Retail) supports the No Kid Hungry^® campaign led by the Share Our Strength charity, working to eliminate hunger in the United States and beyond.

Lagardère Publishing signs the Accessible Books Consortium (ABC) Charter, committing to increase the number of books in accessible formats, including for the blind and visually impaired, or otherwise print disabled.

Lagardère takes part in DuoDay: more than 180 employees from the main Group companies volunteer to team up with disabled people, who shadow them for the day.

Lagardère Publishing acquires UK book publisher Short Books.

Lagardère Travel Retail acquires International Duty Free (IDF), the travel retail market leader in Belgium, which also has operations in Luxembourg and Kenya.  

2020

Lagardère Publishing’s educational subsidiaries (Hatier, Hachette Éducation, Istra, Foucher and Didier) support the schooling continuity plan set up by the French Ministry of Education in response to Covid-19 school closures by offering free access to all their textbooks online to facilitate home study during the pandemic.

Lagardère Travel Retail wins the Groupe ADP group tender to overhaul Foodservice at Paris-Orly (France) with ten new dedicated catering zones.

Lagardère finalises the sale of Lagardère Sports to H.I.G. Capital.

In view of the solidarity and corporate responsibility challenges resulting from the unprecedented Covid-19 health crisis, the Managing Partners of Lagardère SCA, in agreement with the Supervisory Board, withdraw the proposed dividend in respect of 2019.

Lagardère sets up a “Covid solidarity fund” endowed with €5 million to provide backing for the Group’s initiatives in support of its employees worldwide and, where possible, its partners who are suffering the severe effects of the crisis.

At the General Meeting on 5 May 2020, the shareholders of Lagardère SCA approve all of the resolutions proposed by the Managing Partners, except for the re-appointment of Martine Chêne, and reject all of the resolutions submitted by activist fund Amber Capital.

Lagardère Publishing publishes La vie est un roman by Guillaume Musso (Calmann-Lévy), A Promised Land by Barack Obama (Fayard), and The Ickabog by J.K. Rowling (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers) .

Lagardère Travel Retail presents Pick & Go, a new global take-away food offering available in the division’s Travel Essentials, Foodservice and Duty Free stores.

Lagardère Travel Retail opens a new Aelia Duty Free store at Cagliari Airport (Italy).

Lagardère Travel Retail opens its first store in Japan in partnership with Pierre Hermé.

The Lagardère SCA Supervisory Board approves the re-appointment of Arnaud Lagardère as Managing Partner for a period of four years, with effect from 17 August 2020.

Hachette UK, a subsidiary of Lagardère Publishing, announces the acquisition of Laurence King Publishing, a leading specialist in creative arts publishing and stationery in the United Kingdom.

Release of Stephenie Meyer’s Midnight Sun along with the latest volume of the Twilight series in France, the United States and the United Kingdom (Lagardère Publishing).

The President of the Paris Commercial Court (Tribunal de Commerce de Paris) rejects a request by Amber Capital and Vivendi to call an Extraordinary General Meeting of Lagardère SCA.

The LL Network launches the Sustainable Development and CSR academy to showcase the Group’s initiatives, as well as to raise awareness of and boost employee engagement on these issues.

Lagardère finalises the sale of Lagardère Studios to Mediawan.

Lagardère Travel Retail opens the second largest city-centre Duty Free store in Sanya on Hainan island (China) in partnership with Hainan Tourism Investment Development.

2021

Hachette Livre acquires French board game publisher Sorry We Are French.

Lagardère Travel Retail expands in Africa by winning an exclusive Duty Free concession in Tanzania.

Lagardère Travel Retail signs an agreement to operate 20 Foodservice points of sale at Arturo-Merino-Benítez international airport in Santiago (Chile).

Europe 1 registers a downloads record in February 2021 and Hondelatte raconte becomes the number one storytelling podcast in France.

Lagardère Travel Retail Switzerland partners with French company Inflyter to launch a brand new version of the Duty Free Inflyter digital platform (airport click & collect service).

Europe 1, RFM and Virgin Radio sign an agreement with Spotify for the distribution of their podcast catalogues.

Pierre Leroy is appointed Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Hachette Livre. Fabrice Bakhouche is appointed Deputy Chief Executive Officer.

Hachette Livre acquires French board game publisher Hiboutatillus, creator of the game Blanc-manger Coco.

Hachette Livre partners with the Randolph Group, a Canadian board game distributor and publisher, to drive the development of Hachette Boardgames in North America.

The conversion of Lagardère SCA into a joint-stock company is approved by the shareholders on 30 June 2021. The Company adopts the legal form of a joint-stock company with a board of directors and its corporate name is changed to “Lagardère SA”. The Board of Directors implements the Company’s new governance arrangements. Arnaud Lagardère is appointed as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer for his six-year term of office as a director. Pierre Leroy is appointed as Deputy Chief Executive Officer for the same term.

Lagardère Travel Retail opens 18 new luxury goods stores at Shenzhen Bao’an international airport (China).

Lagardère Travel Retail signs an innovative Duty Free profit-sharing agreement with Lima Airport Partners (Peru).

Lagardère Travel Retail opens the first Victoria’s Secret store at the Hainan Tourism Investment Duty Free hub in Sanya, China.

Lagardère Travel Retail signs an agreement for JD.com to take a minority stake in Lagardère Travel Retail Asia as part of a strategic partnership in Asia.

Hachette Book Group acquires US publisher Workman Publishing.

Release of Guillaume Musso’s new novel, L’inconnue de la Seine, published by Calmann-Lévy (Lagardère Publishing).

Lagardère Publishing publishes Asterix and the Griffin, the 39^th Asterix album (Éditions Albert René).

2022

Hachette UK acquires Paperblanks, the world’s second-largest premium stationery brand.

Lagardère Travel Retail’s Latin America operations are launched in Peru.

Hachette Livre acquires Bragelonne, the leading French publisher of fantasy literature, and takes a majority stake in La Boîte de Jeu.

Lagardère Travel Retail acquires the Foodservice activities of HWH (Creative Table Holdings Ltd) in the Middle East.

The first Aelia Duty Free eco-store is opened at Geneva airport in Switzerland.

Lagardère Travel Retail launches catering operations in Chile.

The Hachette Foundation for Reading is launched, chaired by Pierre Leroy (Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Hachette Livre).

Lagardère Travel Retail announces a global action plan to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

Lagardère News receives a gold medal for its CSR performance from EcoVadis.

The Board of Directors of Lagardère SA considers a project to confirm the autonomy of the Group’s radio unit.

Lagardère Paris Racing hosts the first Lagardère Trophy, a professional women’s tennis tournament (WTA 125), at its Croix Catelan site in Paris.

The friendly public tender offer filed by Vivendi SE, which holds 57.35% of the share capital of Lagardère SA, closes.

Lagardère Travel Retail wins the tender for the new Extime Duty Free joint venture with the ADP group in France.

Lagardère News launches the JDD Magazine, a monthly literary and investigative magazine.

Hachette Livre’s publishing houses win 55 literary awards in France.

Lagardère Travel Retail reaches an agreement to acquire the Foodservice operations of Marché International.

Hachette UK acquires Welbeck Publishing Group.

The first Maison Elle is opened in Paris (France), designed in association with the Valotel hotel group.

The Lagardère group ranks 4^th in the SBF 120 for the proportion of women on executive bodies, with an overall score of 88.71/100.

Hachette Livre launches its decarbonisation “30/30 strategy”.

Europe 2 returns to the airwaves as a pop rock music station.

The Lagardère group makes the S&P Global Sustainability Yearbook for the fifth year in a row.

2023

Virgin Radio changes and becomes Europe 2 again based on a pop-rock programme.

Lagardère Travel Retail completes its acquisition of Marché International.

Lagardère is included in S&P’s Global Sustainability Yearbook for the fifth consecutive year.

Le Livre de Poche celebrates its 70^th birthday.

Lagardère Travel Retail acquires 142 Costa Coffee points of sale in Poland and Latvia.

Hachette Boardgames picks up two As d’Or awards.

Hachette Livre wins the ANDRH Grand Prix HR and Environment award.

The Guide du Routard celebrates its 50^th birthday.

1001 Nuits, La Plage and Hachette Éducation are all winners in the 2023 Trophées de l’Edition awards.

The Annual General Meeting overwhelmingly approves all the resolutions.

Hachette Boardgames acquires French board games publisher Catch Up Games.

Lagardère Paris Racing hosts the second Clarins Trophy, a professional women’s tennis tournament (WTA 125), at its
Croix Catelan site in Paris.

Lagardère Live Entertainment acquires Euterpe Promotion, a French company specialising in hosting and local promotional services for French and international productions.

Lagardère SA extends the maturity of its financial liquidity.

Hachette UK is included in this year’s ranking of the Top 50 Employers for Gender Equality published by The Times.

The Hachette Foundation for Reading announces the 13 winning non-profits in its 2023 call for projects.

Lagardère Travel Retail is awarded the tender for the Extime Travel Essentials Paris joint venture with ADP.

Grupo Anaya launches two new publishing houses in Spain (Faeris and Petaletras).

Lagardère Travel Retail rolls out its new sustainable checkout bag strategy to reduce waste and plastic pollution.

Hachette Livre enters into a long-term partnership with Libraries Without Borders.

Lagardère makes its radio unit autonomous further to Arcom approval.

Le Journal du Dimanche celebrates its 75^th birthday.

Lagardère Travel Retail is awarded a master concession agreement at Cotonou airport (Benin).

Lagardère Publishing’s publishing houses pick up more than 20 French literary prizes at the end of the year, out of a total of more than 120 awards won in France and internationally in 2023.

Arnaud Lagardère is appointed Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Hachette Livre and Stéphanie Ferran is appointed Deputy Chief Executive Officer.

The link-up between Vivendi SE and Lagardère SA is finalised.

Lagardère Travel Retail acquires Tastes on the Fly, a well-known North American Foodservice operator.

Lagardère Travel Retail inaugurates 18 Duty Free and Foodservice points of sale in the new terminal at Abu
Dhabi airport (United Arab Emirates).

The second Maison Elle hotel opens in Amsterdam (Netherlands).

Maxime Saada is appointed Vice-President of the Lagardère group.

Yannick Bolloré joins the Board of Directors of Lagardère SA.

Hachette Livre acquires Mama Éditions (France).

Lagardère Travel Retail signs a supply and operational support agreement for the Duty Free concession in Kansai airport’s terminal 1.

Lagardère Travel Retail wins the Foodservice tenders at Varna and Burgas airports (Bulgaria).

The Jean-Luc Lagardère Foundation unveils its 2023 prize-winners.