![“Marianne” being sold to billionaire Pierre-Edouard Stérin “Marianne” being sold to billionaire Pierre-Edouard Stérin](https://media.lesechos.com/api/v1/images/view/664392b3fa500348f2396a8b/1280x720/01101066525854-web-tete.jpg)
End of suspense for the editorial staff of “Marianne”. Employees received confirmation this Tuesday, through an announcement in the social and economic committee (CSE), of the identity of their probable future owner, the conservative billionaire Pierre-Edouard Stérin, co-founder in particular of Smartbox which allowed it to become the 104e fortune of France according to Challenges (1.2 billion euros).
In a press release, the CMI France group of Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky confirms the signing of an exclusive negotiation agreement with the Otium group, the investment company which manages the assets of Pierre-Edouard Stérin, for the sale of “Marianne” . CMI announced a few weeks ago its intention to sell the weekly, whose sovereignist editorial line appeared too out of step with the pro-European convictions of Daniel Kretinsky.