The plan to split the group into four entities will be discussed with shareholders at a general meeting in Paris. An internationalization plan for the French media and publishing giant which raises questions, especially among Vivendi's small shareholders.
A highly anticipated general meeting will be hosted by the legendary Folies-Bergère performance hall this Monday, December 9 in Paris. Vivendi shareholders must indeed vote on the proposed split into four entities of the French media and publishing giant, controlled by billionaire Vincent Bolloré. This key meeting takes place from 3 p.m., with three resolutions put to a vote. They concern respectively the companies Canal +, Havas and Louis Hachette Group, which aim to become independent of Vivendi. The AGM is not a simple formality: the first two resolutions must receive two thirds of the votes, the third a simple majority.
If it is indeed a green light, then from December 16 the Canal + group will be listed on the London Stock Exchange, Havas (communications) in Amsterdam and Louis Hachette Group in Paris on the Euronext Growth market, regulated but not regulated. The Vivendi holding company controlled by Vincent Bolloré will remain on the Paris Stock Exchange, and will continue to develop the video game publisher Gameloft, which it 100% owns, and to manage various minority stakes (Universal Music Group, Banijay, TIM, Prisa, etc.) .
“Unleash development potential”
Concretely, “if you have one Vivendi share, you will receive one Canal + share, one Havas share and one Louis Hachette Group share, and you will keep your Vivendi share”, explained the group to shareholders. Thursday, December 5, Canal + sent a signal to the market by announcing the withdrawal from June 2025 of its four pay channels from DTT (Canal +, Canal + Cinema, Canal + Sport, Planète). A way to reduce costs, while the group is also facing a tax adjustment of 650 million euros. The fault is a new calculation of its VAT by Bercy, increased since 2019 from 10 to 20%, in order to be aligned with the model of subscription streaming platforms.
What is the purpose of the operation? On the Vivendi side, we affirm that it is a question of “fully release the development potential of all of its activities”, according to the announcement, at the end of 2023, the group will be valued at nearly 8.9 billion euros and has some 73,000 employees. Because since it split from Universal Music Group (giant of the music industry) in 2021, Vivendi says it is experiencing a “very high conglomerate discount”, by almost 45%. In other words, the whole is worth less than the sum of the parts of the French juggernaut. And this situation limits “its capabilities to carry out external growth operations for its subsidiaries”. The Bolloré group, currently holding 29.9% of Vivendi, will remain “a reference shareholder in the four companies”, Who “will allow us to move from a modus operandi of “siblings” today, to a form of “cousinage” between entities tomorrow”, as declared at the end of October Echos the chairman of the board of directors of Vivendi, Arnaud de Puyfontaine.
“Circumvent French stock market law”
Except that this operation called “Wild Boar” in the corridors of Vivendi makes certain small shareholders jump. In particular the activist fund CIAM, which holds 0.025% of the capital, and which has launched all-out actions to block this split. For its two founders, Catherine Berjal and Anne-Sophie d'Andlau, in an interview with Challengesthe Bolloré family seeks above all to “circumvent French stock market law” and to “strengthen your control” within Vivendi. Seized in summary proceedings, the Paris commercial court refused a postponement of Monday's general meeting requested by the activist fund. In addition, the Paris Court of Appeal was seized, CIAM contesting an opinion from the Financial Markets Authority, the policeman of the Stock Exchange.
Depending on the fund, “foreign or less regulated places” such as London or Amsterdam will above all allow Vincent Bolloré, a key shareholder via his eponymous group, to increase his holdings in the future and therefore strengthen his “control over Canal +, Havas and Louis Hachette Group without having to launch a public offer” purchase, while emptying “Vivendi of its essential assets”. “Trial of intent”, retorts Yannick Bolloré to the CIAM fund in Challenges. To tell the truth, Vincent Bolloré has until now never been forced to launch a mandatory takeover bid for Vivendi, the Breton billionaire having conscientiously remained below the regulatory threshold of 30%. Will the shareholders present this Monday be receptive to this criticism? Still according to the economic magazine, several minority shareholders would also hesitate to vote in favor of the project.
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