The case being heard at France's highest appeal court on Friday concerns whether billionaire Vincent Bollor and his family exercised de facto control of the French media and entertainment conglomerateVivendiduring its breakup in 2024.
Investment groupCIAMargued that the Bollor familys influence over Vivendi exceeded its headline shareholding of 29.9 percent. Under French law, passing the 30 percent threshold triggers a mandatory buyout offer to minority shareholders.
In April 2025, a Paris Court of Appeal decided that Vivendis own shares should be counted as effectively controlled by the Bollor family, which pushed them over the line.
The court is now tasked with deciding whether that ruling still holds.
The case comes as several anti-corruption organisations have published reports or undertaken investigations relating to other aspects of the Bollor groups activities.
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Scrutiny
Transparency International has highlighted the risks posed byconcentrated ownershipin the media sector.
According to theEuromedia Ownership Monitor, France has been experiencing "a significant level of concentration ... particularly through acquisitions by powerful players whose main activities are generally unrelated to the news media".
French billionaire Bollor targeted in African ports corruption case
The French NGO Sherpa has been involved in cases concerningalleged corruptionlinked to the Bollor groups historic logistics operations in West Africa. Sherpa has filed complaints and produced reports on port concessions in Togo and Guinea, raising concerns about how those public contracts were awarded.
The NGO has also scrutinised the way certain cases were resolved throughconventions judiciaires dintrt publicFrances corporate settlement mechanism suggesting that such settlements can limit the publics understanding of how influence may have been exercised, since they avoid a full trial.
While the Bollor group denies any wrongdoing, Sherpa maintains these cases highlight the need for stronger mechanisms to ensure transparency and accountability in international commercial operations.
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Concern over working conditions
A separate line of investigation relates to the agri-business companySocfin, at which Vincent Bollor was a major shareholder and board member for many years.
Several NGOs have published reports on land rights concerns, working conditions and environmental impacts associated withpalm-oil plantationsin Cameroon and several other African countries.
According to a report published by theEarthworm Foundationearlier this year, abuse allegations ranged from "coerced sex and labour violations on Socfins farms to land grabbing, forced evictions, restriction of villagers movement, destruction of sacred sites and the pollution of people's drinking water".
The Bollor group maintains that it does not control Socfin.
The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) adds another layer to the story, with entities linked to the Bollor business network having appeared in leaked financial documents including thePanama Papersand LuxLeaks, mainly in relation to offshore holdings and tax structuring.
The ICIJs work does not imply direct wrongdoing but highlights a consistent theme that large corporate groups often rely on intricate ownership structures that can obscure where decisions are made and by whom.
Originally published on RFI
