French film giant Pathé Group announces financial agreement with Saadé family on the eve of Cannes Film Festival

The family of the Franco-Lebanese billionaire is acquiring a 20% stake in the French group with the aim of enabling it to accelerate its development, particularly in the production of films and series with an international appeal.

The Saadé family is acquiring a 20% stake in the Pathé group through its holding company Merit France, the French cinema giant, a leader in film production and cinema operation in Europe and Africa, announced on Monday, May 12.

" In a rapidly evolving macroeconomic and industrial environment, which offers opportunities, this transaction aims to give Pathé the means to accelerate its development, particularly in the production of films and series with an international appeal, and in the modernization of its cinema network ," Pathé emphasizes in a press release with UGC.

Before this announcement, the group led by 90-year-old Jérôme Seydoux had considered other options, including an initial public offering in 2024 to recover from the Covid years, which had severely impacted movie theaters. A merger with rival UGC was even briefly discussed, but never took place.

" We proposed to UGC to merge in 2021, because we are very complementary and in the future, we will have to be bigger to have the capacity to develop in the long term ," declared Jérôme Seydoux at the time. " The arrival of the Saadé family as a partner will accelerate the development and modernization of Pathé, it will also allow us to continue working with the talents to whom we are attached and to seek out those who share our ambitions and want international success ," declared Jérôme Seydoux, quoted in the press release.

" We are committed to contributing to the development of the sector and promoting French film culture around the world ," added Rodolphe Saadé. Born in 1970 in Beirut, he has been the head of the CMA CGM group, one of the world leaders in transport and logistics, since 2017.

The arrival of the Franco-Lebanese billionaire's family in Pathé's capital comes on the eve of the opening of the 78th Cannes Film Festival, where Pathé will be represented with the opening film Partir un jour. by Amélie Bonnin, which he produced, as well as " 13 Days, 13 Nights " by Martin Bourboulon with Roschdy Zem, presented out of competition at the end of the festival. A major player in French cinema, Pathé is a major film producer, focusing in particular on French-style blockbusters such as " The Count of Monte Cristo ", a success in 2024 with 9.4 million admissions . The group has 130 cinemas for a total of 1,316 screens.