By Gianluca Lo Nostro
(Reuters) -French media group Vivendi reported a 4.5% rise in its nine-month revenues on Tuesday, mostly driven by the growth of its Lagardere and Canal+ businesses.
WHY IT’S IMPORTANT
Unhappy with a high conglomerate discount that has weighed on the stock’s performance for years, Vivendi is pushing for a split that would see its Canal+, Havas and Louis Hachette units become independent.
Under the proposed break-up plan, Canal+ would be listed in London, advertising business Havas in Amsterdam, and a new entity consisting of Vivendi’s publishing and distribution assets, Louis Hachette Group, in Paris.
KEY QUOTES
“These performances confirm the strength of our main businesses and their capacity to become independent if the Shareholders’ Meeting convened on Dec. 9 2024, approves the group’s proposed split project,” Chairman Yannick Bollore and CEO Arnaud de Puyfontaine said in a statement.
CONTEXT
The London listing of Canal+ may reach a valuation of up to 8 billion euros, making it the largest deal for the London market since 2022, British newspaper The Telegraph reported on Monday.
A Vivendi spokesperson declined to comment on the report.
Canal+ and Havas will hold capital market days on November 18 and November 19.
BY THE NUMBERS
Revenues in the first nine months of the year came in at 13.80 billion euros ($14.91 billion), a 4.5% increase on a constant currency basis compared to the 7.12 billion euros a year ago.
WHAT’S NEXT
Shareholders will vote on the planned split on Dec. 9, with the three spin-offs expected to start trading on Dec. 16.
($1 = 0.9257 euros)
(Reporting by Gianluca Lo NostroEditing by Gareth Jones and Tomasz Janowski)
