Vivendi Names Management, Board Lineups of Units Ahead of Planned Split
Arnaud de Puyfontaine will remain as CEO of Vivendi
Vivendi VIV -0.56%decrease; red down pointing triangle named the management teams and board lineups of the four units into which it plans to split ahead of a shareholders’ vote on the breakup in December.
The French media group steered by the Bollore family is closing in on a major overhaul that would result in its Canal+ broadcasting unit, Havas advertising business and publishing assets—housed by a new company called Louis Hachette Group—being spun off and listed separately. Vivendi would keep investments in the entertainment and content industries.
With the split, Vivendi aims to give the units greater autonomy to pursue their own goals, such as making acquisitions, and narrow the gap between the value of the assets it owns and the group’s market capitalization. Vivendi said the so-called conglomerate discount has been high since it listed Universal Music Group in 2021.
Yannick Bollore, currently Vivendi’s supervisory-board chairman, will keep that role after the split and be chair and chief executive of Havas, the group said Tuesday. He will also chair Canal+’s supervisory board, Vivendi added.
Maxime Saada will be CEO at Canal+, while Jean-Christophe Thiery will be chair and CEO of Louis Hachette, Vivendi said.
Arnaud de Puyfontaine will remain CEO of Vivendi, the company said.
Vivendi said it will propose a direct allocation of shares in Canal+ and Louis Hachette Group to its shareholders. At a shareholders’ meeting scheduled for Dec. 9, resolutions on the allocation of Canal+ and Louis Hachette shares will require approval by a majority of two-third of the votes cast, it said.
For Havas, Vivendi plans a distribution in kind of shares in the holding company, a proposal that will require approval by a simple majority of votes, it said.
The shares in the spinoffs will be allotted on a one-to-one basis, meaning that each Vivendi shareholder entitled to participate in the spinoff will receive one share in each of Canal+, Havas and Louis Hachette for each Vivendi share held, while retaining their stock in the parent company.
After the split, Havas will have virtually zero net debt and Louis Hachette will have no debt of its own, while Canal+’s debt will stand at 400 million euros ($432.5 million), Vivendi said. Vivendi said its debt will be 1.9 billion euros.
The company has been working on the split since it floated the idea in December last year. Vivendi had previously said its units would start trading as standalone companies on Dec. 16, subject to approval from shareholders, with Canal+ listed in London, Havas in Amsterdam and Louis Hachette in Paris.