Lagardère announces the acquisition of 100% of the NEXTEDIA Group by Lagardère Active

Nextedia, France’s leading independent provider of interactive marketing services, is an interactive media agency offering a full package of services to advertisers wishing to expand their internet footprint, including:

• Strategic and operational consultancy in online marketing (customer acquisition and/or retention)
• Development of eMarketing tools (e.g. websites, special offers, display advertising, viral campaigns)
• Strategic consultancy in Search Engines Optimization
• Digital advertising space buying: in France, Nextedia is a leader in internet display advertising and in affiliation, as well as in search engine space buying.
• Database design and management (eCRM, e-mailing, etc)
• Traffic building via natural linking strategies and viral brand marketing campaigns

In 2006, Nextedia generated gross profit of €9.7m and EBIT of €1.7m. The company had a positive net cash position at end 2006 and is set to double in size in 2007.

Under the terms of the acquisition agreement, an initial cash payment of €50m will be made, followed by additional earn-out payments in 2011 and 2013 up to a maximum of €50m, contingent upon the attainment of specified profit targets.

Following this acquisition, Lagardère Active will have:

1. A team of nearly 300 digital media experts serving over 200 clients
2. An unrivalled palette of web and mobile expertise
3. Proprietary technologies in web-user behavioral analysis, advertising campaign payback analysis, and the management of sponsored link auctions.

This new deal, following on from the acquisition of Jumpstart in the United States, once again demonstrates Lagardère Active’s commitment to placing digital at the heart of its strategy. Lagardère is determined to anticipate the consolidation of the web publishing, linking and monetization segments. The deal will unlock synergies for Lagardère in a number of areas, including:

• Enabling the Group’s content producers to increase their internet audience and build web communities around their core themes
• Helping the Group’s client base (agencies and advertisers) deploy high added-value advertising and marketing tools
• Transforming Nextedia into a European platform for marketing the Group’s interactive services

Didier Quillot, Chairman of the Lagardère Active Management Board, commented: “We are delighted to bring so much new expertise on board. Aside from the strategic and business case for this deal, the key challenge in this acquisition is to exploit fully the cultural mix between traditional and digital media.”

Henri Le Menestrel, Chairman of Nextedia, commented: “By joining the Lagardère Group, we are buying into a market vision that appeals to us. We are also tapping into significant resources that will secure the long-term development of Nextedia. We are convinced that this new environment will help us not only build on our existing competitive edge, but also expand into new territories and business lines.”

About Nextedia

Nextedia is France’s leading interactive media agency, and the only independent player working across the entire range of digital services: search marketing, media planning and online space buying, performance marketing, e-mailing, affiliation, CRM, mobile marketing, interactive media management and online PR, website and advertising campaign design, and database marketing.
The Nextedia Group acts as a federator for its 8 sales agencies (AddviseMedia, Ad’oc, Imergence, Popofthecom, One référencement, Un77, CrossValue and Bonnie & Clyde), offering advertisers a 360° view.
Founded in March 2005 by Henri Le Menestrel, Loic Fleury, Marc Menase and Gaël Duval, the Nextedia Group now has 290 employees and recruits an average of 7 new professional staff every month.

The Lagardère Group is a market leader in the media sector (books, press, audiovisual, distribution of cultural and entertainment products, and sports rights). The Group also has interests in the high technology sector via a 12.44%
stake in EADS. Lagardère shares are listed in Paris on Eurolist by Euronext – Compartment A.