Group

Matra Manufacturing & Services is fully owned by the Lagardère Group. It has been included within the non-core part of the Group since ceasing automobile manufacture and the re-focusing of the Group around Media and High Technology.

The Lagardère Group

Operating in more than forty countries, Lagardère is a French group and a world leader in two sectors - the media and advanced technology. Its media activities represent a stable core business for Lagardère, built on distinct and complementary operating sectors. Lagardère’s 14.98% strategic interest in the European company EADS underlines its presence in the high-tech market.

Lagardère Publishing

The Book Publishing subsidiary, which publishes more than 12,000 new titles every year, focuses on general literature, textbooks, and illustrated and reference works. It also publishes booklets, which are sold at newsstands. Publishers, often the heirs to a long historical tradition, remain the heart and soul of the Lagardère Publishing organization, which aims to be an association of human-scale publishing houses that respect different cultures and skills.

Lagardere Active

Lagardère Active was established as a new entity in 2006, uniting the Group's magazine publishing activities and audiovisual and digital divisions. Lagardère Active aims to become a leader in the production and aggregation of multimedia content in France and internationally. It also aims to capitalize on its expertise acquired in specific sectors, such as women, youth and music, and to extend this know-how across a complete range of media, including radio, television, print, Internet, and telephone.

Lagardère Services

Lagardère Services, in the past Hachette Distribution Services, passionately running three businesses on a daily basis - retail sales in transportation hubs, sales of cultural and entertainment products, and press distribution - the companies comprising Lagardère Services are all fulfilling the same mission: "Facilitating the general public's access to a diverse range of ideas and cultures."

Lagardère Sports

Over the course of the 2006 financial year, the Lagardère group pursued a strategy of acquiring businesses involved in sports. Two projects in particular - the acquisitions of Sportfive and Newsweb - were completed during the year.

High Technologies

The group's strategic stake in the European company EADS demonstrates its commitment to high technology. A global leader in aviation, space and defense, EADS was created following the merger between France's Aerospatiale Matra, Spain's Casa and Germany's DaimlerChrysler Aerospace. Its success stems from the know-how of its 110,000+ employees, its technological innovations, a host of major European programs (including Eurofighter and Ariane) and a number of first-class companies such as Airbus, Eurocopter, MBDA and Astrium.