Shares in media giant Vivendi surge on break-up and spin-off plans (updated)
14/12/2023 08:46
(Updates shares in paragraph 2, adds background, analyst
comment in 3-7, Bollore holding shares in 9)
PARIS, Dec 14 (Reuters) - Shares in Vivendi VIV.PA
surged on Thursday after the French media giant said it would
examine splitting up into several entities, each of which would
be listed on the stock market.
Vivendi shares were up 8.3% to 9.70 euros at 0844 GMT in
heavy volumes, with the gains adding about 764 million euros
($833 million) to its market value, taking it to about 9.9
billion euros.
Vivendi said the businesses that could be spun off included
its TV unit Canal Plus, advertising arm Havas, taken private by
Vivendi in 2017, and an investment company holding its stake in
French publisher and retailer Lagardere LAGA.PA .
The break-up would increase the valuation of the spun-off
units by removing a conglomerate discount and open up M&A
opportunities, according to J.P. Morgan analysts, who flagged
Havas as an attractive bid target that could trade at a premium.
In October, Vivendi reported a rise in its third quarter
revenues, driven by growth at Canal Plus and Havas.
Shares in Bollore BOLL.PA , the holding company of French
billionaire Vincent Bollore which is Vivendi's biggest
shareholder, rose 3.1%.
"The proposal unlocks value while at the same time making it
easier ... for Bollore to increase its stakes in the operating
assets ... at some point in the future," said the J.P. Morgan
analysts, who expect the split process to take up to a year.
"It also means that Bollore does not need to pay a premium
for non-operating assets that it does not see as strategic,"
they added.
($1 = 0.9176 euros)
(Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta, Danilo Masoni and Piotr Lipinski
Editing by Mark Potter)
((sudip.kargupta@thomsonreuters.com;))