PARIS/BOSTON - Franco-Israeli cable magnate Patrick Drahi made a surprise move into the art world by snapping up Sotheby’s in a deal worth $3.7 billion, marking the art auction house’s return to private ownership after 31 years.
Drahi’s expansion in the United States also has echoes of former Vivendi boss Jean-Marie Messier, who turned a struggling French water company into a global media giant with stakes in established U.S. institutions. “Now the company can become more flexible and nimble as a privately-held enterprise and it will be interesting to see the changes that will be made,” said Abigail Asher, a partner at international art consultants Guggenheim, Asher.Founded in London in 1744 before expanding overseas in the 20th century, Sotheby’s had the distinction of being the oldest company listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
A report published by Swiss bank UBS and Art Basel in March said that the global art market had enjoyed another uptick in 2018. Drahi has also been selling non-core assets in recent years to ease concerns over the debt levels of his businesses. Despite controlling influential French media outlets such as leftist bible Liberation and the country’s most-watched news channel BFM TV, Drahi has shied away from elite gatherings of France’s establishment and spends much of his time between Switzerland, the United States and Israel.
And the billionaire pedophiles continue to grow
French billionaire buys Altice, media group.🇺🇸💋💜😎
I wish I could speak to PatrickDrahi & ask him WHY would he do SUCH a dumb thing to waste $3 billion dollars on buying an auction house when he could have built homes for children and gotten rid of the horrible FosterCare! charity so needed!
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