Move will free up French outfit to increase activity with global subsidiaries

French media giant Vivendi has given the greenlight for its streaming and pay TV outfit Canal+ Group to be spun off in London. 

The move, which has been in the works for almost a year, has been confirmed by more than 97% of Vivendi shareholders and will see the Canal+ Group – home to production outfit StudioCanal – listed on the London Stock Exchange. 

London Has Fallen

Hit feature film London Has Fallen

Analysts have said they expect the company will be valued at around €6bn when shares start trading later this month. 

The split is aimed at delivering more value to shareholders from the three companies rather than one and will also enable Canal+ to leverage its global investments. 

Canal+ Group owns stakes in streamers around the world, including Viu in Asia, MultiChoice in Africa and Viaplay across the Nordics. 

It has also been bolstering its senior ranks, bringing in former Paramount chief Bob Bakish as a member of the board in late October. 

StudioCanal, meanwhile, has a slate that ranges from movies such as Back to Black and Paddington in Peru to TV series such as Canal+ original Paris Has Fallen and ITVX drama Playing Nice, from James Norton’s Rabbit Track Pictures. 

Its library also includes hit BBC1/HBO co-pro Years and Years and French true-crime hit Of Money and Blood, also for Canal+. The company also has a US presence including an LA office led by Shana Eddy Grouf and a recently launched New York arm led by Anne Chérel . 

Vivendi chairman Yannick Bollore has been overseeing the restructure, which will also see its advertising firm Havas listed in Amsterdam and its publishing arm Louis Hachette Group listed in Paris.  

Vivendi will remain listed in Paris and house investments including Universal Music Group. 

Bolloré said he was “delighted with the very high adoption rate of our spin-off project”, describing the reorganisation as a “transformative transaction.”