France’s junior minister for digital economy Fleur Pellerin has hinted at welcoming outside interest in Dailymotion, an online video-sharing website owned by France Telecom’s Orange, saying there is no need for the website to remain owned completely by French companies. However, she maintained that there should not be any move aimed at suppressing the French workers paying their services for the company.
Some reports emerged last week claiming that France had blocked Yahoo’s plans to buy a majority stake in Dailymotion. The French authorities were of the view that Yahoo’s acquisition of a majority stake would lower the value of Dailymotion and that Yahoo being a huge group would wanted to devour its smaller competitor.
On the flipside, Pellerin has welcomed interest of other investors in Dailymotion, provided they meet certain conditions. The French authorities want the website to remain exclusively French while the investors can benefit from the revenue. Pellerin said in an interview in French weekly Journal Du Dimanche, via Reuters:
“Our gems are struggling to grow. They need help. If this requires a tour with funds from Silicon Valley alongside Orange acting as a reference, this is not a problem for me. All options need to be studied.”
Dailymotion has already received interests from different groups, but the French authorities are yet to reach any decision. Considered world’s second largest video-sharing website, behind YouTube, Dailymotion is available in over 30 countries of the world in more than 15 languages. The French minister maintained during the interview that all options would be considered, but she also stressed that the company, its staff and jobs must remain in the country.
Whether its stake would be sold to a U.S.-based group is a separate debate, it is pertinent to note here that French companies seemingly face political interference when it comes to making big decisions. That said, it should also be noted that the government of France has ownership stake in Dailymotion’s parent company France Telecom, and hence this gives it the right to block any deal.
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