Dailymotion: the boss of France Telecom gives the French State to its ... - The Point

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The boss of France Telecom / Orange, Stephane Richard, said the independence of his group against its bulky shareholder, the French government after the failed sale of French video site Dailymotion the U.S. Internet giant Yahoo!.

“Dailymotion is a subsidiary of Orange, not the state. This is the group, its management and its Board of Directors who manage this issue,” he told the daily Echoes on Thursday, while ensuring that there was no conflict between the operator and the government, which holds 27% of the operator. “But I had refused Yahoo! has an option to purchase the entire share capital of Dailymotion, and we were about to reach a settlement,” lamented the boss of France Telecom.

Yahoo! gave up to acquire control of Dailymotion face of opposition from the French Minister of Productive Recovery Arnaud Montebourg to see this jewel of French high-tech spending in foreign hands, according to the daily Wall Street Journal . The American wanted to buy France Telecom 75% stake in Dailymotion, with an option for up to 100%. The state, which still holds 27% stake in France Telecom, would not go beyond 50%.

Stéphane Richard has insisted that “it is not at the request of the State” that his group has invested in early 2011 Dailymotion which “proved to be a good case, the value has doubled or tripled. ” He said also prefer that the state, which proposes to mobilize public funding for the development of Dailymotion, abandoned this approach.

“We are not looking for sponsors! Our priority is to find an ally that ensures the development of Dailymotion outside Europe,” he said. “We looked at more than 60 potential partners in France and abroad before we focus on Yahoo! Now we will take our research,” he said. For many analysts, Dailymotion must be backed by a partner in a position to open the vital U.S. market.