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French Film Studio Pathé Brings in Shipping Billionaire Rodolphe Saadé as New Shareholder
Pathé is welcoming a new shareholder: Rodolphe Saadé, a shipping billionaire who's taken a 20% stake in the company through his family holding.
After plotting an IPO that didn’t happen, Jérôme Seydoux’s venerable French studio Pathé is welcoming a new shareholder, Rodolphe Saadé, a French-Lebanese shipping billionaire who’s taken a 20% stake in the company through his family holding, Merit France. Saadé also runs CMA CGM, the world’s third-largest container shipping company, which also recently nabbed 10% of France’s second biggest commercial network M6, and the daily newspaper La Provence, as well as has invested in Brut, the influential digital media publisher which became one of the main partners for the Cannes Film Festival. Pathé just had a banner year with “The Count of Monte Cristo” which was 2024’s second biggest box office hit in France, and is at Cannes with the opening night movie, “Leaving One Day,” Amelie Bonnin’s feature debut, as well as Martin Bourboulon’s thriller “13 Days, 13 Nights.” The company, headed by Ardavan Safaee, has been ramping up its output of ambitious movies tailored for theaters, as well as has opened premium venues in several locations.
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