Canal+ is set to become a standalone company after shareholders of its parent, Vivendi, approved a breakup of Vivendi Media conglomerate with a spinoff plan. More than 97.5 per cent voted to separate Canal+, ad business Havas and publisher Louis Hachette Group. Vivendi projected moderate earnings growth for Canal+ and Havas. Havas' adjusted EBITA is set to exceed 300 million euros ($316 million) this year due to controlled operating costs.
Yannick Bollore, chairman of Vivendi's supervisory board, last month estimated the total value of Vivendi's assets at around 16 billion euros, with Canal+, Havas and Louis Hachette being worth about 6.8 billion, 3.4 billion and 2.1 billion euros respectively.
Vivendi's broadcasting division Canal+ will be listed in London but will be headquartered in France, advertising agency Havas will float in Amsterdam, while Louis Hachette Group, regrouping its publishing assets, will trade on Euronext Growth in Paris.
According to JP Morgan, Canal+ is estimated to be worth 6 billion euros ($6.3 billion), Havas is valued at 2.5 billion euros and Louis Hachette is estimated at 2.2 billion euros.
“We are delighted with the very high adoption rate of our spinoff project,” said Vivendi chairman Yannick Bolloré.
“This indisputable result confirms this strong support of our shareholders for this transformative transaction.”
“The Supervisory Board would like to warmly thank Arnaud de Puyfontaine and the whole Management Board, all the teams involved in this project, our different advisors and our shareholders for their trust. We are convinced that this new chapter for Canal+, Havas and Louis Hachette Group will be very promising and create value for all stakeholders.”
Canal+ launched in 1984 and was acquired by Vivendi 16 years later as part of a transaction that saw it grouped with Universal. Vivendi sold its Universal assets to General Electric, which formed NBCUniversal by merging the production biz with broadcaster NBC.
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