Shares of Vivendi, the French media group, saw a significant increase after the company announced its plans to explore a potential split into three separate businesses. The proposed businesses would revolve around Canal+, Havas, and an investment company that would hold a majority stake in Lagardere.
Currently, Vivendi's shares are up 8% at EUR9.68, marking a substantial jump since the beginning of the year. The company believes that the split will address the conglomerate discount it has experienced following the spin-out of Universal Music Group in September 2021. This led to a reduced valuation for Vivendi and hindered its ability to pursue growth opportunities for its subsidiaries.
Since UMG began trading on Euronext Amsterdam, Vivendi's stock has declined approximately 15%. To address these challenges and unlock value for stakeholders, the company plans to list the resulting entities on the stock market. These entities will focus on television and film-production group Canal+ TV, advertising firm Havas, and an investment company incorporating the recently acquired majority stake in publishing and travel-retail business Lagardere.
Vivendi emphasized that this project will need to demonstrate its added value for all stakeholders and conduct an analysis of the tax implications associated with the proposed operations. As of Wednesday's close, Vivendi's market capitalization stood at 9.23 billion euros ($10.03 billion), while its revenue for last year reached EUR9.595 billion.
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