Paddington producer hoping for tasty result with listing on LSE

Canal+, owned by the French media company Vivendi, is reportedly aiming for a London Stock Exchange (LSE) valuation of up to £6.7bn (€8.04bn).

If so, this could be one of the biggest listings in 2024 and go a long way in helping revive the LSE’s recent fortunes. 

The company is likely to be included in the FTSE 100, with the listing likely to be completed by mid-December this year, according to a report in The Telegraph. The move has been initiated because of the corporate restructuring Vivendi is currently undergoing.

Vivendi said in a press release on 29 July this year: “With regard to Canal+, the ongoing split project would result in the admission on the London Stock Exchange of the shares of a French holding company, which would be called Canal+ and would control 100% of the company holding the licence to provide terrestrial television services.

“This holding company would therefore replace Vivendi as the parent company of Canal+ group.”

Shares in the new holding company will automatically begin trading, and be given out to current Vivendi shareholders, once the listing is done, with no new capital being raised or new investors being brought on. 

Canal+ is a pay-TV broadcaster, which provides a range of channels and content such as series, documentaries, films, sports and other entertainment. Users can also enjoy other streaming platforms such as Disney, Netflix and Apple TV with a Canal+ subscription. 

The company currently has operations in more than 50 countries, including Haiti, Mauritius, Ghana, Nigeria, Cape Verde and many more. It also has a number of subsidiaries, such as Canal+ International, which is a pay TV group. 

It also owns StudioCanal, which produced movies such as Paddington, The Secret Garden, Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget and more. Other subsidiaries include Canal+ Régie, Canal+ Events, i>Télé, Canal+Cyfrowy and Vietnam Television. 

Vivendi’s ongoing restructuring has also meant that some of its other assets will be transferred to Canal+. 

Vivendi said in a recent press release: “Canal+ will consolidate together with its current business GVA, which provides telecommunication services in Africa, including high-speed Internet access marketed under the brand Canalbox; the video streaming platform Dailymotion; the performance venues L’Olympia and the L’Œuvre theatre in France as well as the cinema theatres CanalOlympia in Africa.

“In this new configuration, Canal+ Group will represent a unique international media operation with exposure to both mature and high-growth markets.”

Canal+ listing could go a long way in reviving the London Stock Exchange

The London Stock Exchange has seen new listings sharply fall in the last few years, with a number of companies choosing to list in the US instead. This is mainly because of the wider range of investors, deeper capital pool and more welcoming regulations, especially for tech and oil and gas companies. 

Although some companies such as Applied Nutrition and Raspberry Pi are still choosing to list in London, the stock exchange as a whole has been struggling to draw in new investors or retain existing ones.

As such, Canal+’s choice to list on the LSE is expected to go a long way in helping boost investor confidence and hopefully encourage other companies to do the same. 

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Vivendi has also recently announced that it was planning on listing Havas, its advertising subsidiary in Amsterdam, on the Euronext Amsterdam exchange.

A proposal regarding the move is expected to be shared with shareholders for approval in December this year.