Barclays ups 'inexpensive' Vivendi on three potential catalysts, shares rise

Lagardere SA

02/10/2023 08:56

** Shares in Vivendi  VIV.PA  rise around 3% after Barclays
upgrades the French media company to "overweight" from "equal
weight", citing three near-term potential catalysts and
"inexpensive" valuation
    ** As a first catalyst Barclays names current French
football Ligue 1 auction that Canal+ has decided not to bid for,
which could boost its EBITA
    ** Second, it notes a potential Telecom Italia deal that
should reduce Vivendi's exposure, bring 1.7 billion euros of
cash and results in Telecom Italia being valued higher boosting
Vivendi's SOTP (sum of the parts) valuation 7-22%
    ** Additionally, the exercise of the put option in
Lagardere's subsidiary offer should be worth 5% on the share
price, the broker adds
    ** Altogether, Barclays estimates these three
potential catalysts could be worth 15-30% on Vivendi's share
price, which it believes is "significant"
    ** It increases its target price by 0.9% to 11.60 euros
    ** Out of 15 analysts that cover Vivendi, 13 rate the stock
"strong buy" or "buy"​ two rate it "hold" and no analysts rate
the stock "strong sell" or "sell"

 (Reporting by Nathan Vifflin)
 ((nathan.vifflin@thomsonreuters.com; +48 58 769 67 13;))