Vincent Bolloré’s Plans to Carve Up Vivendi, List Canal+ Group on Stock Market
variety.comElsa Keslassy International Correspondent In a comeback worthy of “Succession”‘s patriarch Logan Roy, French billionaire Vincent Bolloré has re-emerged from a fictive retirement to engineer a strategic overhaul of his listed media empire, Vivendi.
After seemingly passing on the reins of Vivendi to his sons Yannick and Cyrille last year, Bolloré stepped back in with a plan to split the French conglomerate into three businesses – pay TV group Canal+, advertising banner Havas and an investment vehicle comprising Lagardere Group — that would each be listed separately at the Paris stock exchange.
The supervisory board of Vivendi has approved the exploration of this three-way split which, if pursued, will see the Vivendi brand disappear along with Bolloré’s initial “synergy” strategy which was his mantra when he became the conglom’s largest shareholder in 2012.
News of the forthcoming shift has been greeted with enthusiasm as Vivendi’s stock valuation climbed by 10% to €9.98 per share.
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