The two companies issued a statement on 31 December that said they had entered exclusive negotiations until 30 January "for the acquisition by Hearst Corporation of Lagardère's international press and magazine business in an all-cash transaction".
Before Christmas, Lagardère was understood to be in informal talks with Hearst and Germany's Bauer about offloading its 212 magazines in 45 countries outside France.
A spokeswoman for the company indicated it wanted to keep editorial control over Elle magazine. She said: "Elle is a beautiful brand with an international presence and 43 editions, and the group wishes to keep editorial control of Elle."
Hearst Corporation is based in the US and owns more than 200 magazines around the world including the UK's National Magazine Company portfolio of titles such as Good Housekeeping and Cosmopolitan.
It also owns 15 daily and 38 weekly newspapers and 29 television stations in the US.
Hachette Filipacchi UK, a wholly owned subsidiary of Lagardère, publishes Elle and Elle Decoration, women’s lifestyle magazines Red and Psychologies, and teenage magazine Sugar. It also publishes soap celebrity titles Inside Soap and All About Soap.
Lagardère’s decision to downsize internationally in the near future casts doubt over whether Hachette Filipacchi would now seriously consider acquiring BBC Worldwide’s magazines in the same financial year. The publisher was recently tipped as an early contender for the potential partnership.
Lagardère and Hearst were unavailable for further comment.
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