Vivendi's Major Restructuring: New Market Placements for Canal+, Havas and Louis Hachette

The French media conglomerate Vivendi has successfully split into three independent companies. These new entities, Canal+, Havas, and Louis Hachette Group, will be traded starting Monday in London, Amsterdam, and Paris, after shareholders overwhelmingly approved the risky split project on December 9. Canal+ is expected to be the largest new listing on the London Stock Exchange in two years. The decision to list Canal+ in London was announced in July and is considered a much-needed boost for the British stock market, which has faced a series of departures and few high-profile newcomers in recent years. British Finance Minister Rachel Reeves described this as a "vote of confidence" in the UK market. The advertising company Havas will debut on Euronext Amsterdam, while the publishing division Louis Hachette will enter trading on Euronext Growth Paris. Lagardere, which will be majority-owned by Louis Hachette after the split, will remain listed on Euronext Paris. With reference prices of €1.79 for Havas and €1.12 for Louis Hachette, the implied enterprise value is stated at €1.78 billion and €1.1 billion, respectively. J.P. Morgan analysts estimate the value of Canal+ at approximately €6 billion, Havas at €2.5 billion, and Louis Hachette at around €2.2 billion. Vivendi will continue to be traded on Euronext Paris without the spin-offs and will remain in the Blue-Chip index CAC40 for the time being. However, this could change in the future, according to Chairman of the Supervisory Board Yannick Bollore.