22/04/2003 (Agence Europe) - The French group, Lagardère, officially gave notice of its intention to purchase Vivendi Universal Publishing on 14 April. The European Commission has up to 22 May to decide whether to give the go-ahead to the deal, possibly depending on a number of conditions, or begin a detailed investigation. If the operation goes ahead, it will create a number one player in France which is also in a fourth place ranking in the publishing sector globally