Vivendi announces agreement for full sale of Gala magazine

(Reuters) - Vivendi subsidiary Prisma Media has entered into a put option agreement with Groupe Figaro for the full sale of French gossip publication Gala magazine, the French media and communications giant announced on Thursday.

Vivendi, which also owns global media group Canal+ and communications agency Havas, did not disclose the value of the deal but said it hopes to complete the sale by October.

Groupe Figaro, part of the Dassault empire which also includes Dassault Aviation and Dassault Systemes, must be "approved as a suitable purchaser by the European Commission", Vivendi said.

Vivendi shares were up about 3% in early trading.

The company is currently under investigation by EU antitrust regulators with regard to a possible infringement of merger rules related to the acquisition of another media conglomerate, Lagardere.

(Reporting by Victor Goury-Laffont; editing by Jason Neely)