Delcourt has a buyer. Editis, France’s second largest book publisher, has entered talks for a complete acquisition of its third largest comics publisher – buying into a sector that it previously had little exposure. Editor and founder Guy Delcourt will remain in post.
In a press release on the Editis website, the move was announced to the world [translated by DeepL]:
“Delcourt and Editis announce that they have entered into exclusive negotiations for the acquisition of 100% of the Delcourt Group by Editis.”
Adding:
“This merger would be a major strategic step for both groups. Editis would strengthen its position in the bande dessinée [comics] and manga segment, which has become unavoidable. Delcourt would benefit from the support of a solid, diversified publishing group to ensure its continued development. Guy Delcourt would remain at the head of the company he founded nearly 40 years ago, preserving its identity and operational autonomy.”
While the public became aware of Guy Delcourt’s interest to sell the company last month, acquisition discussions with Editis had reportedly begun as early as January 2024. For the acquisition to be finalised, Editis will still need to get the go-ahead from employee representative bodies at Delcourt and the EU’s competition commission. Should it proceed, it will complete by late 2024 at the earliest.
Since 2018 Guy Delcourt had run the company as majority shareholder with a 49% minority stake held by Marie-Jeanne Meyer’s Florac investment group. Editis will buy up both Guy Delcourt and Florac’s shares for an as-yet-undisclosed amount.
The decision of the sale at the present moment occurred because of concerns of continuity and security for the company – with two big issues at play: succession and the desire for the Florac group to move on from the partnership.
In prior times many European publishing houses were family affairs, with the ownership being handed down across generations. In recent decades many once family owned publishers – especially comics publishers – have been sold to larger bodies, becoming part of a broader portfolio within publishing houses and media entities. The most prominent example in French comics is Média Participations which possesses major Franco-Belgian publishers Dupuis, Dargaud, and Le Lombard. Glénat, the other major player in the French comics market, is still run by the Glénat family – with Jacques Glénat holding the position of company chairman and reins being passed to his eldest daughter Marion Glénat-Corveler in 2019.
Guy Delcourt, 66, has three children with none likely to take over the company. He told trade outlet Livres Hebdo [translated via DeepL]:
“As there is no family succession, I felt it was my responsibility to ensure the company’s continuity during my time at the helm and beyond. It’s inevitable that the company will one day change hands in terms of its shareholder base. I preferred to take the initiative and choose the right moment to find a buyer who would satisfy our requirements and be reassuring about the future of the group.”
To Le Monde, he said that he was attracted by the “humanist values” of Editis and the new potential owner would:
“guarantee our real autonomy, by leaving us in the same premises, without touching the management team, and by undertaking not to make any job cuts”
The deal is not without small complexities – Delcourt is currently distributed by Hachette, Editis’ rival, until the end of 2025. It is presumed Delcourt will move to Editis’ own Interforum distribution network in early 2026.
Delcourt is a major name in the French comics market, being the third largest in the sector after Média Participations and Glénat. It was independently founded in 1986 by Guy Delcourt after the merger (and eventual folding) of landmark French comics magazines Charlie Mensuel and Pilote by Dargaud, the latter publication of which he worked as an editor. The publisher broadly caters to all manner of tastes but is most frequently associated with science fiction, horror, and fantasy genres. By 2011, through expansion and acquisition it had become the largest independent comics publisher in the French market – with manga imprints Akata, Tonkam (previously one of the earliest French manga publishers); and its own webtoon platform, Verytoon. It is also the French-language publisher for a number of big name US titles including Jeff Smith’s Bone, The Walking Dead, Invincible, Hellboy, The Goon, and more. Among its manga and manwha side it publishes the French editions of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, Gantz, Food Wars, Fruits Basket, Solo Leveling, and God of High School. Last year the company made €104.2 million ($113 million), itself a slight decline on the previous year as the covid-induced sales bump in the wider book sector started to return to normal trends. It currently has a staff of 145, publishes around 700 titles a year and has a catalogue of over 13,000 books.
Editis is a huge company but it has a limited presence in the French bande dessinée market. To date it possesses 55 publishing houses, publishes around 4000 titles annually, and has over two thousand employees. In 2023 Editis was sold off after previous owner Vivendi (who had purchased the company in 2018) acquired a majority stake in the parent company of France’s biggest publisher Hachette Livre. The group was sold for €653 million (~$700 million) to Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky’s Czech Media Invest group. According to a Vivendi report, prior to the sale, Editis had a turnover of €789 million in 2022 – a slump on previous year – with it being remarked that its meagre comics offerings were one of the few sides of the company to experience “double-digit growth” – with plans on “building on its flagship collections and expanding by opening new publishing houses: Black River, dedicated to comics, and Kotoon, specializing in Webtoon”. The purchase of Delcourt’s catalogue and decades of expertise in the field of comics and manga would give France’s second largest book publisher full access to the market beyond the periphery.
With the knowledge of the company’s desire to expand further into the booming French comics market, it is no small wonder when Editis’ managing director Catherine Lucet remarked in the announcement press release [translated by DeepL]:
“The signing of an exclusive negotiation agreement for the Delcourt Group to join Editis represents a change in dimension. We are honored that a seasoned entrepreneur as talented as Guy Delcourt has chosen our group to continue building the future of his company. We look forward to welcoming him, his team and the company’s authors, and to launching new initiatives together.”
France’s comics market is staggeringly vibrant – with bande dessinée and manga being widely available from general bookstores, supermarkets, and specialty shops. 75 million titles were purchased last year, yielding sales exceeding €877 million (~$950 million) – meaning that on average the French bought 1.4 million comics or manga per week in 2023, according to market analyst GfK
