French media group Lagardere is looking to list its stake in DTH provider Canal+ in spring 2011, according to Lagardere’s CFO Dominique d’Hinnin cited by Reuters.
During an investor conference in Spain, d’Hinnin reportedly said that Vivendi, which owns a…
French media group Lagardere is looking to list its stake in DTH provider Canal+ in spring 2011, according to Lagardere’s CFO Dominique d’Hinnin cited by Reuters.
During an investor conference in Spain, d’Hinnin reportedly said that Vivendi, which owns a majority stake in Canal+, never responded to a price proposal made by Lagardere.
Those comments echo previous statements made by Lagardere’s management board. During the 2010 half-year earnings call, the company explained that Vivendi declined to make a proposal, saying it preferred to keep its money to invest in telcos.
Under a 2007 shareholder agreement, Lagardere has a put an option to sell its 20% holding in Canal + to Vivendi between 15 March and 15 April every year until 2014 or list it if Vivendi refuses to buy it.
Lagardere had been hoping to get around E1.5bn for its 20% from Vivendi although back in April, Credit Suisse valued it closer to E1.2bn. A few months ago, Vivendi was said to have offered Lagardere just under E1.3bn but Lagardere is reportedly hoping to achieve a higher valuation through the public markets.
Some experts in the industry speculated that the sale of the NBC Universal stake by Vivendi to General Electric for US$2bn, early October, would have triggered new deal talks for Canal+.
Early September, Vivendi CEO Jean-Bernard Levy said that the company’s objective remained “full ownership of our France-based entities”, which include French mobile operator SFR but also Canal+, in which it already owns 80%. Levy added that “there may well be opportunities in the near future”.
