Canal+ IPO delayed

Lagardere group announced it has decided to postpone the IPO of its 20% stake in pay-TV company Canal+ France due to the volatility of the markets stemming from the scale of the disaster in Japan.
The listing on the NYSE Euronext in Paris was expected…

Lagardere group announced it has decided to postpone the IPO of its 20% stake in pay-TV company Canal+ France due to the volatility of the markets stemming from the scale of the disaster in Japan.

The listing on the NYSE Euronext in Paris was expected to take place at the beginning of April.

Lagardere is advised by BNP Paribas and JPMorgan and Vivendi by Nomura and Societe Generale.

Group Canal+, a fully-owned subsidiary of French media and telecoms group Vivendi, holds 80% of Canal+ France.

Vivendi chairman Jean-Bernard Levy was quoted saying earlier this month that his group ultimately sought to own 100% of Canal+ France. He reportedly said that talks to buy Lagardere’s stake have failed because of a difference in price expectation, but pointed out that Lagardere was able to stop the listing process at any point.

Under a 2007 shareholder agreement, Lagardere has a put 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.

Canal+ France posted about E4bn revenues, 20% operating margin and E357m attributable net profit in 2010. At the end of last year, it had 3,365 employees.