Barclays resumes Vivendi at 'overweight', predicting wind-down after breakup

Havas NV

18/12/2024 07:45

** Barclays resumes coverage of Vivendi  VIV.PA  with an
"overweight" rating after its breakup, saying the French group
is more likely to wind down its operations rather than continue
as an investment vehicle in the long term
    ** "It has actually become a simple story," Barclays says,
noting 95% of the value in new Vivendi is in its public stakes
    ** The former conglomerate is now a holding company managing
Gameloft and with strategic stakes in public companies after
spinning out Canal+  CAN.L , Havas  HAVAS.AS  and Louis Hachette
Group  ALHG.PA 
    ** Barclays says that if the group offloads its stakes over
the next couple years, it should be valued with an around 10%
discount to the sum of its parts, offering a significant upside
to current valuation
    ** If it stays as an investment vehicle, then the discount
would amount to a "sensible" 40%, comparable to Exor  EXOR.AS 
and GBL  GBLB.BR , the broker adds
    ** Barclays sets its PT at 3.25 euros, 29.4% higher than
Vivendi's closing price of 2.51 euros on Tuesday

($1 = 0.9516 euros)

 (Reporting by Gianluca Lo Nostro)
 ((gianluca.lonostro@thomsonreuters.com;))