Vivendi Says It Is “Studying” A Project To Split Activities Into Several Entities
Paris-based global media and entertainment conglomerate has announced it is studying a project to split its activities into several entities.
The group said that since the distribution and listing of Universal Music Group in 2021, it had endured a “high conglomerate discount”, resulting in a valuation less than the sum of its constituent parts, which in turn had limited its ability to grow its subsidiaries.
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It noted that subsidiaries Canal+, Havas and Lagardère were currently experiencing strong growth internationally and could benefit from numerous investment opportunities.
“In order to fully unleash the development potential of all its activities, the Management Board of Vivendi proposed to the Supervisory Board – which gave its approval on the matter today – to explore the feasibility of a project to split the company into several entities, each of which would be listed on the stock market,” the group said in a statement.
The new entities would be grouped around pay-TV giant Canal+ Group; communications group Havas and an investment company, with listed and unlisted financial stakes in the cultural, media and entertainment sectors.
The latter entity would also hold a majority stake in the Lagardère group, which is a market leader in publishing and travel retail.
Vivendi noted that Canal+ currently had a subscriber base of over 25 million in nearly 50 countries.
It said the group was well positioned to capitalize on further consolidation opportunities on a global scale following its acquisition of independent Benelux and Central Europe pay-TV group M7 and global media company SPI as well as taking strategic stakes in businesses such as Multichoice, VIU, and Viaplay.
On Havas, Vivendi said the group currently had 23,000 employees spread across more than 100 countries and had kept up a steady pace of targeted acquisitions over the past two years.
Vivendi said the investment company would actively support the strategic development of its portfolio companies and would focus on value creation and capital return to its shareholders, through an effective portfolio rotation and a targeted reinvestment policy.
It added that the split project would provide all the entities with the human resources and “the financial agility” necessary for their development.
“This project will have to prove its added value for all stakeholders and include an analysis of the tax consequences of the various contemplated operations,” added the statement.
It said that that Vivendi would be assisted by its usual banks and advisors to conduct the study.
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