Canal Plus, the international pay-TV company and owner of the studio behind the Paddington film series, made its multibillion-pound stock market debut in London on Monday, delivering a much-needed shot in the arm for the capital's stock exchange. will be provided.
The flotation, which Chancellor Rachel Reeves described as a “vote of confidence” in Britain's capital markets, is set to be the biggest new listing in London in two years, raising its market capitalization to around €6 billion Some people think that it is. (4.99 billion pounds).
The company will be spun out by French media conglomerate Vivendi, which is breaking up into smaller companies in search of better valuation for its constituent parts.
Advertising group Havas, publisher Louis Hachette and Canal Plus will all start trading on the Amsterdam, Paris and London stock markets from Monday.
Vivendi is run by billionaire Vincent Bolloré, who owns no shares in any of the businesses. However, Bolloré Group, which owns almost a third of Vivendi shares, will hold a 30.6% stake in both companies.
Vivendi continues to own a 10% stake in Universal Music, home to stars such as Taylor Swift and the Beatles, which was spun off three years ago.
Canal+ intends to use its London listing as a springboard to create a European streaming champion to take on Netflix, Disney+ and Amazon.
The company, which is the parent company of production business StudioCanal, owns the rights to the Shaun the Sheep series, the Bridget Jones series and the Amy Winehouse biopic Back to Black.
The company has a presence in more than 50 countries, with around 60% of its approximately 27 million subscribers based outside France, making it Africa's largest pay-TV operator and Netflix's largest streaming service across the continent. It is nearing completion of its $2.9 billion acquisition of rival MultiChoice. Use Showmax services.
Last year, Canal+ acquired a stake in Viu, a Hong Kong-based streaming service with more than 66 million monthly users and 12 million paid subscribers.
It will begin trading on Monday at a valuation of approximately 3.5 billion euros, reflecting Vivendi's closing price on Friday. But Vivendi executives and JPMorgan Bank analysts believe the company could eventually reach a market value of 6 billion euros. Not everyone agrees. UBS believes Canal+ is worth close to 3 billion euros.
The move, which will see banks, law firms and other advisers involved in the deal collect an estimated 80 million euros in fees, comes as a number of high-profile companies either go private or choose to list with rivals. This will be a tailwind for the city at a time when the city is in the midst of a crisis. financial centers such as New York;
The London Stock Exchange is heading for its worst year of departure since the financial crisis. A total of 88 companies delisted or transferred their primary listings from London's main market this year, but only 18 remained in their place, the biggest net exodus since 2009.
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The number of new listings is also expected to be the lowest in 15 years, according to the London Stock Exchange Group. Last week, Ashtead Group, a £27bn build and hire company, announced plans to move its primary listing from London to New York.
Recent setbacks include Cambridge-based chip designer Arm's decision to defy capital and end up offering the largest initial public offering of shares in recent years on New York's Nasdaq.
A decline in the number of UK listed companies has raised concerns about the health of the London market.
On Friday, Maxime Saada and Canal+ chief executive and treasurer Amadeine Ferré met with Reeves at 11 Downing Street to discuss “the attractiveness of the UK as a listing destination”.
“Economic growth is my number one mission,” Reeves said. “And attracting more investment to the UK is key. We are delighted that Canal+ has chosen the UK. Their decision is based on the UK's capital markets, the stability we deliver and This is a vote of confidence in our transformation plan.”
Saada, who is scheduled to ring the bell at the market opening on Monday, said he was made to feel welcome during the listing process.
