Ahead of Lagardere’s general assembly on 3 May, CEO Arnaud Lagardere has said he is considering acquiring the remaining 80% in pay-TV Canal+ France from media and telecoms conglomerate Vivendi.
In an interview with French newspaper Le Monde, Largedere…
Ahead of Lagardere’s general assembly on 3 May, CEO Arnaud Lagardere has said he is considering acquiring the remaining 80% in pay-TV Canal+ France from media and telecoms conglomerate Vivendi.
In an interview with French newspaper Le Monde, Largedere said that his media company could be interested in buying out Canal+ before listing it “on favourable terms”.
However, he added that Vivendi would first need to return €1.6bn (US$2.1bn) to Canal+.
Lagardere recently exited the defence and aeronautic sectors by selling its 7.5% stake in EADS for €2.3bn. Following the divesture, the company now predominantly focuses on the media and publishing industries.
With the proceeds of the EADS sale, Arnaud Lagardere said his group will return a €1.2bn, or €9 per share, exceptional dividend to shareholders. The rest will be used to repay debt – standing at €1.7bn at the end of 2012 – and for acquisitions, he added.
Despite having cash on hand for future deals, Lagardere’s plan for Canal+ comes as a surprise. Two years ago, the company was still looking to sell its 20% stake in the satellite broadcaster – reportedly valued at between €1bn and €1.5bn – via an IPO.
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.
Lagardere first announced its intention to list the stake in July 2010, as Vivendi was said to have offered just under €1.3bn instead of the €1.5bn sought by the media company. Since then, it postponed its IPO plans several times.
For its part, Vivendi’s chairman Jean-Bernard Levy has previously said that his group ultimately plans to own 100% of Canal+ France. He argued that talks to buy Lagardere’s stake back in 2011 failed because of a difference over valuations, but pointed out that Lagardere was able to stop the listing process at any point.
Now, Arnaud Lagardere believes that Canal+ France “deserves an ambitious growth project”. He told Le Monde that if “Vivendi lacks optimism about the future of Canal+,” he would be ready to study a potential acquisition of the company.
Vivendi declined to comment on Largadere’s comments.
