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French media company Vivendi is exploring a potential break of the business, which includes advertising network Havas and TV network Canal+ Group, in a bid to fuel growth.
The company, led by Vincent Bolloré, chairman of Vivendi, announced it is exploring splitting its various interests following the listing of Universal Music two years ago.
Known as one of “The Big Six” agency groups, Havas is run by chief executive and chair Yannick Bolloré. It currently employs more than 23,000 people across 100+ counties and in Q3 it reported revenue of €686 million ($751 million) for the period, up by 3.2% year on year.
A statement from the company explained that since the Universal Music listing in 2021 it “has endured a significantly high conglomerate discount, substantially reducing its valuation and thereby limiting its ability to carry out external growth transactions for its subsidiaries.”
To progress, the management board of Vivendi has won the support of its supervisory board to explore the prospect of splitting the company into several entities which would each be listed on the stock market.
Those include Canal+ Group, which currently generates more than 60% of Vivendi’s revenue, Havas and another entity that includes a mix of business assets such as the majority stake in the publishing and travel retail business Lagardère group.
Vivendi claims that all three businesses have experienced strong growth internationally, making them potential investment opportunities.
“This split project would provide all the entities with the human resources and the financial agility necessary for their development,” the statement from Vivendi continued.
It also added that before progressing, proof of added value for stakeholders and analysis of the tax consequences would be needed.
No timescale for the process was set out in the announcement.
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