The Competition Authority of France announced that it sees no fault with the acquisition of the daily newspaper Le Monde by businessmen Pierre Bergé, Xavier Niel and Matthieu Pigasse and gave the project "the green light," Le Nouvel Observateur wrote today. Last week Le Monde wrote that the trio would have a 51 percent stake in the company.

According to Agence France-Presse, the organisation explained that the buyers had "limited interests" within print magazines (gay and lesbian title Têtu for Bergé and rock music outlet Les Inrockuptibles for Pigasse) and websites, meaning that the deal had no underlying competition issues. Editorial independence was guaranteed for all the titles involved in the deal, AFP added.

According to Le Monde, an ethics code would be put in place for all the publications and two committees will be established, one for the daily and one for the magazines. The committees would include members of the editorial board, staff, readers, the daily's director as well as two independent and qualified individuals chosen by the Supervisory Board.

The code cannot be modified unless a collective two thirds of the shareholders decide upon it. It dictates that the group's titles are obliged to offer "quality information that is precise, verified and balanced," Le Monde added. Furthermore, journalists would have to have "a critical outlook on information" and represent multiple opinions.

The firm created through the €110 million buyout was named Le Monde Libre, meaning Le Monde Free ("Le Monde" means "The World"). According to Le Point, the Competition Authority outlined that the three men would have to boost the company's capital and take control of the holding company Le Monde SA, the previous owner of the daily. Meanwhile, the internal shareholders such as the Board of Le Monde Editors would indirectly retain a minority blocking regarding certain decisions, Le Point mentioned.

At least €25 million would go to the capital fund while €35 million would be set aside for holders of bonds redeemable in shares, Le Monde wrote. Pierre Bergé offered €10 million for the "center of independence" (consisting of the Board of Le Monde Editors, staff members and Le Monde readers) so that their minority blocking would amount to 34 percent.

The venture was approved last week by the paper's Supervisory Board, which consisted of the internal shareholders (consisting of staff members and the company Hubert Beuve-Méry) as well as external shareholders, AFP.said. Other acquisition candidates included state-owned telecommunications provider France Télécom and Spanish media group Prisa, but they did not receive as much support as the trio of businessmen, Le Nouvel Observateur wrote.