Vivendi has outlined plans on how it will split its business later this year.
In an update presented to its supervisory board, Vivendi’s management said advertising arm Havas would be listed on the Euronext Amsterdam, premium TV business Canal+ would be listed on the London Stock Exchange and publishing arm Lagardère would continue to be listed in Paris.
The proposed Havas Amsterdam listing was attributed to the fact that the majority of the holding group’s activities are “carried out internationally”. The company added that Universal Music Group, previously majority-owned by Vivendi, had been listed there successfully.
Listing in Amsterdam also means Havas “would be in the best possible position” to carry out its global Converged strategy that was announced at Cannes Lions this year.
Meanwhile, the suggested London flotation of Canal+ aims to “reflect the company’s international dimension”, with nearly two-thirds of its subscribers outside France and with its film and TV distribution present on all continents.
Elsewhere, Vivendi’s publishing arm Lagardère would be renamed Louis Hachette Group and continue to be listed on the Euronext Growth in Paris.
The company would bring together assets from Vivendi’s 63.5% stake in Lagardère and wholly owned Prisma Media.
If the listings go ahead, Canal+, Havas and Lagardère would keep the “decision-making centre of their activities”, as well as their operational teams, in France.
Canal+ and Havas would remain French tax residents.
Watch: Yannick Bolloré on connecting Havas’ expertise in one place
What’s next?
Vivendi will now follow an employee consultation procedure, where a decision could be taken at the end of October.
After that, there will be a submission to an extraordinary shareholders’ meeting, where the decision to split and list on separate stock exchanges would need to approved by a two-thirds majority in December.
Yannick Bolloré, chairman and CEO of Havas and chairperson at Vivendi, told The Media Leader previously that following this path would transition the businesses from “sisterhood” to “cousinhood”.
He said: “On the one hand, we have very strong results with our activities, and on the other hand, when you look at the stock price, it doesn’t reflect the quality or the value of our assets.”
Bolloré added that Vivendi would remain a major shareholder, but its assets “will get better value” via this arrangement.
Why Canal+ could be looking to list in London
