Vivendi reports 9-month revenue up 4.5% on Lagardere and Canal+ growth (updated)
22/10/2024 17:25
(Recasts with nine-month data, adds details and context)
By Gianluca Lo Nostro
Oct 22 (Reuters) - French media group Vivendi VIV.PA
reported a 4.5% rise in its nine-month revenues on Tuesday,
mostly driven by the growth of its Lagardere LAGA.PA and
Canal+ businesses.
WHY IT'S IMPORTANT
Unhappy with a high conglomerate discount that has weighed
on the stock's performance for years, Vivendi is pushing for a
split that would see its Canal+, Havas and Louis Hachette units
become independent.
Under the proposed break-up plan, Canal+ would be listed in
London, advertising business Havas in Amsterdam, and a new
entity consisting of Vivendi's publishing and distribution
assets, Louis Hachette Group, in Paris.
KEY QUOTES
"These performances confirm the strength of our main
businesses and their capacity to become independent if the
Shareholders’ Meeting convened on Dec. 9 2024, approves the
group's proposed split project," Chairman Yannick Bollore and
CEO Arnaud de Puyfontaine said in a statement.
CONTEXT
The London listing of Canal+ may reach a valuation of up to
8 billion euros, making it the largest deal for the London
market since 2022, British newspaper The Telegraph reported on
Monday.
A Vivendi spokesperson declined to comment on the report.
Canal+ and Havas will hold capital market days on November
18 and November 19.
BY THE NUMBERS
Revenues in the first nine months of the year came in at
13.80 billion euros ($14.91 billion), a 4.5% increase on a
constant currency basis compared to the 7.12 billion euros a
year ago.
WHAT'S NEXT
Shareholders will vote on the planned split on Dec. 9, with
the three spin-offs expected to start trading on Dec. 16.
($1 = 0.9257 euros)
(Reporting by Gianluca Lo Nostro
Editing by Gareth Jones and Tomasz Janowski)
((gianluca.lonostro@thomsonreuters.com;))