Never two without three. The magazine press group I/O Media, owner of Têtu, Ideat or The Good Life, has requested its placement in receivership before the Paris commercial court, its president Albin Serviant told AFP on Friday, confirming information Echoes. “Têtu” could cease publication for the third time in its history.
“There are discussions with large media groups to support them,” Albin Serviant explained to AFP. In the meantime, “we place ourselves under the protection of the commercial court, to protect assets and employees, give us oxygen and take time.” This measure will allow the continuation of all activities, leaving the possibility of a possible takeover or a contribution from a minority shareholder. “The paradox of all this is that Têtu is doing well, which is not the case for Ideat and The Good Life,” underlined Albin Serviant.
Founded 28 years ago, the magazine Têtu, which targets the LGBT readership, was relaunched in 2018 by a group of investors led by Albin Serviant. In January 2020, it raised one million euros to accelerate its diversification strategy and brought in several new shareholders. I/O Media expanded by taking over Opéra Magazine in 2021, then in 2022 the bimonthly design magazine Ideat, the men’s bimonthly The Good Life and the women’s magazine Dim Dam Dom. “Têtu is profitable and its turnover has increased,” assured Albin Serviant, who explains this by “the strategy” of diversification that he has implemented, since “75% of his business comes from B2B” on issues of diversity and inclusion, for example with workshops and conferences in companies or the production of content for buyers.
Conversely, “Ideat and The Good Life are dependent on a model of newsstand sales and classic advertising, which is in crisis,” continued the manager. According to him, one of the objectives is to reorient these journals towards the same economic model as Têtu. Like I/O Media, other independent press groups are in difficulty, hit by the rise in the price of paper and energy and struggling to repay loans guaranteed by the state. The magazine “XXI”, placed in receivership in August, could be taken over by Indigo Publications (La Lettre A, Africa Intelligence, Intelligence Online and Glitz), according to press information.
I/O Media, which has around fifty employees, should achieve a turnover of around 11 million euros in 2023, compared to 10.5 million in 2022, according to him. President of the group, Albin Serviant is the largest shareholder, alongside other investors, including Marc-Olivier Fogiel, the Banijay group and SOS Participations.