Matthieu Pigasse
Matthieu Pigasse | |
|---|---|
| Born | May 25, 1968 Clichy, France |
| Occupation(s) | Investment banker, media entrepreneur, investor |
| Years active | 1994–present |
| Known for | Global Head of Mergers and Acquisitions at Lazard; CEO of Lazard France; head of Centerview Partners in France; media ownership including Le Monde and L’Obs |
| Notable work | Le Monde d'après, une crise sans précédent (2009), Révolutions (2012), Éloge de l’anormalité (2014) |
Matthieu Pigasse (born 1968) is a prominent French investment banker, media entrepreneur, and investor. Previously serving as Global Head of Mergers and Acquisitions and Sovereign Advisory, as well as CEO of Lazard France, he currently heads Centerview Partners' operations in France.
Early life
Pigasse was born on 25 May 1968 in Clichy, a suburb of Paris, but spent his childhood in the Normandy countryside. His father, Jean-Daniel Pigasse, worked as a journalist for La Manche libre, while his uncle, Jean-Paul Pigasse, is known as a media owner. He completed his education at Sciences Po and the prestigious École nationale d'administration.
Career as a financial advisor
Beginning his professional journey in 1994 at the French Treasury, Pigasse was responsible for managing the nation’s debt and liquidity. Between 1998 and 1999, he served as an advisor to the Ministry of Economy under Minister Dominique Strauss-Kahn, followed by his role as chief of staff to Finance Minister Laurent Fabius from 2000 to 2002.
In 2002, Pigasse joined investment bank Lazard as managing director and was named Global Head of Sovereign Advisory a year later. He played a leading role in significant sovereign debt restructurings for countries including Iraq, Ecuador, Argentina, Cyprus, and Greece. Additionally, he has been influential in European mergers & acquisitions, offering guidance on landmark transactions such as the $40 billion merger between Suez and Gaz de France (which created GDF Suez) and L’Oréal’s repurchase of Nestlé shares. He also advised Caisse d'Epargne on its acquisition of a stake in Lazard.
Pigasse was promoted to CEO of Lazard France in 2009, elevated to Vice Chairman of Lazard Europe in 2011, and appointed Global Head of Mergers & Acquisitions at Lazard in April 2015. His board memberships include positions at BSkyB, Groupe Lucien Barrière, and Derichebourg.
Media business
The Pigasse family has traditionally been engaged in media ownership and management, especially within the newspaper sector.
Matthieu Pigasse himself has taken an active role in media ventures, including selling Newsweb to Arnaud Lagardère, advising Murdoch on matters related to Eurosport, supporting the channel Pink TV, and funding the digital news platform Rue89.
From 2010 onward, he has co-owned , a prominent centre-left daily newspaper, alongside partners Xavier Niel and Pierre Bergé. Since 2014, he has also been the proprietor of the weekly magazine L’Obs. In October 2018, Pigasse divested 49% of his shares in to Czech entrepreneur Daniel Křetínský. The Independency Group—a minority stakeholder tasked with protecting editorial independence—was not notified prior to this transaction and subsequently requested an "approval agreement" to consent or oppose changes in controlling shareholders; as of September 2019, no such agreement had been finalized.
Via his holding company LNEI, Pigasse acquired the music publication Les Inrockuptibles in 2009 and took ownership of Radio Nova in 2015. He also holds equity stakes in the French editions of Huffington Post, Melty Group, and Vice France.
In 2015, Pigasse assumed the chairmanship of les Eurockéennes in Belfort, recognized as one of Europe's largest rock music festivals. The following year, he collaborated with Xavier Niel and Pierre-Antoine Capton to raise €250 million to establish Mediawan, a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) designed to become a leading European platform for media content and entertainment.
Politics
Having been a dedicated member of the Socialist Party for many years, Pigasse publicly distanced himself from the policies of François Hollande in 2014 through his book Éloge de l’anormalité, where he criticized global elites for their inadequate response to crises and their dependence on austerity strategies.
In May 2011, he arranged a complimentary concert to mark the 30th anniversary of President François Mitterrand's election victory.
Personal life
Pigasse is married to Alix Etournaud, a journalist and author, with whom he has three children. In 2011, she released an autofiction work that explored Pigasse's affair with journalist Marie Drucker during her pregnancy with their youngest child.
His net worth was estimated at several tens of millions of euros in 2011. While he did not own any real estate or vehicles at that time, by 2018 he possessed two residences, one located in Boulogne-Billancourt and another in Mesnuls.
Unusual for someone in banking, Pigasse is passionate about video games, enjoying titles such as Mario Party, Mario Kart, and Assassin’s Creed. Additionally, he is recognized as an enthusiast of punk rock music.
Bibliography
- Le Monde d'après, une crise sans précédent (co-authored with Gilles Finchelstein, Paris: Plon, 2009)
- Révolutions (Paris: Plon, 2012)
- Éloge de l’anormalité (Paris: Plon, 2014)