Despite receiving market scepticism and opposition from minority shareholders, the board of Bollore family-backed French Media conglomerate- Vivendi has approved the spin off of Canal+, Havas and Louis Hachette Group.
According to a media report, the motions received support from over 97% of the votes, a resounding win for the Bollore clan as a two-thirds majority was required to validate the split.
That being said, minority investors CIAM and Phitrust publicly opposed the breakup, saying it would only increase the Bollore family’s grip on the conglomerate as it currently is a top shareholder of the company with 29.9% stakes.
As part of the same, Vivendi’s broadcasting division Canal+ will be listed in London and be headquartered in France; advertising agency Havas will float in Amsterdam; and Louis Hachette Group will regroup its publishing assets and trade on Euronext Growth in Paris, starting December 16.
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.
With the spin off in place, shareholders will receive one share in each of the new companies for every Vivendi share they hold.
Responding to CIAM’s decision to continue legal proceedings against the breakup, Yannick Bollore, CEO and Chairman, Havas and Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Vivendi, said, “If the Bollore group wanted to take control of Vivendi, it wouldn’t have chosen this operation.”
The chairman, as per reports, also clarified that he is looking at the long term and still has around six months to one year to prove to the market that the project is successful.
