Canal+ listing is ‘vote of confidence’ in UK stock market, says Reeves
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TV channel spun off from France’s Vivendi could climb to £5bn in biggest new listing in London for two years. Canal+, the international pay-TV company and owner of the studio behind the Paddington film franchise, is to make its multibillion-pound stock market debut in London on Monday, providing a much-needed shot in the arm for the capital’s stock exchange.
The flotation, which the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, has said is a “vote of confidence” in the UK’s capital markets, is set to be the largest new listing in London in two years with some projecting its market value will climb to about €6bn (£4.99bn).
The company is being spun out by the French media conglomerate Vivendi, which has been breaking itself into smaller companies in search of higher valuations for its constituent parts. The advertising group Havas, the publishing company Louis Hachette and Canal+ will all begin trading shares in stock markets in Amsterdam, Paris and London on Monday.
Vivendi, which is controlled by the billionaire Vincent Bolloré, will not retain shares in any of the businesses. However, Bolloré Group, which owns almost a third of Vivendi, will hold a 30.6% stake in each of the companies. Vivendi continues to hold 10% of Universal Music, home to stars including Taylor Swift and the Beatles, which was spun off three years ago.
Canal+ intends to use its London listing as a springboard to develop a European streaming champion to challenge Netflix, Disney+ and Amazon. The company, parent of the production business StudioCanal, owns rights to the Shaun the Sheep series, the Bridget Jones franchise and the Amy Winehouse biopic Back to Black.
