Bolloré’s stake in Vivendi surpasses 20% threshold
Vincent Bolloré has further tightened his grip on Vivendi, the Paris-based media group of which he has been chairman since June 2014.
The entrepreneur and industrialist’s family-owned company, Bolloré group, said on Monday that it had upped its stake in Vivendi to take it through the 20 per cent threshold. At the last count, Vivendi’s holding had been 15.27 per cent, according toBloomberg.
Mr Bolloré has spent the last two years re-casting the media group, whose assets range from Canal+ to Universal Music. More on that from the FT’s Adam Thomson here.
Bolloré group has raised its stake via a number of transactions. It listed these in a statement on Monday as:
- The completion of the early unwinding in cash of the hedging and financing
operation on 34 million Vivendi shares, or 2.6 per cent of Vivendi share capital
in April 2015. The decision to unwind was disclosed on September 1, 2016. - A share loan agreement on 34.7 million Vivendi shares or 2.7 per cent of Vivendi
share capital maturing on June 25, 2019. - The acquisition of call options that enable the group to purchase at any
time an additional number of 34.7 million Vivendi shares (2.7 per cent of Vivendi share capital) until June 25, 2019. - A new financing facility pledged on Vivendi shares accounting for 300
million euros and maturing in March 2022.
The statement added:
Taking into account the double voting rights attached to the shares that the Group should acquire by April 20, 2017, it would hold around 29 per cent of voting rights in Vivendi at that date.These operations reflect the confidence the Bolloré Group has in Vivendi’s potential for development and its willingness to remain as reference shareholder of the company in the long term.