Canal+ shares fell nearly 16% in their London stock market debut on Monday after being spun off from French media conglomerate Vivendi. The broadcaster, known for its live sports coverage and the Paddington film franchise, saw its shares trading around 252 British pence ($3.19) at 9:13 a.m. London time, down 13.1% from the open. By 10:13 a.m., shares had dropped to 243 British pence ($3.07), a decline of 15.7%.
The spin-off was part of Vivendi’s strategic move to unlock the value of its assets, which received over 97% shareholder approval. Vivendi’s Paris-listed shares surged 33.2% in response. CEO Maxime Saada explained that Vivendi had been suffering from a conglomerate discount, with its value estimated at less than €10 billion ($10.52 billion) despite the sum of its parts being much greater.
Canal+ has dramatically expanded its footprint in the past decade, tripling its subscriber base to around 27 million, with two-thirds now outside of France in Africa, Eastern Europe, and Asia.
Canal+ market debut pressure
Saada outlined plans to selectively expand the company’s presence in sports broadcasting to compete with U.S. players while being cautious about overspending on rights.
Vivendi is also spinning off advertising group Havas and publishing company Louis Hachette Group, which will be listed on the Euronext Amsterdam and Euronext Growth Paris, respectively. Yannick Bolloré, chair of Vivendi’s board, expressed delight at the high adoption rate of the spin-off project, confirming strong shareholder support for the transformative transaction. The Canal+ London listing was seen as a potential boost to the U.K.’s capital markets following a series of corporate departures.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves described the debut as a “vote of confidence” in the U.K.’s financial stability and market appeal. Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, highlighted the significance of Canal+’s decision to list in London, noting it as the biggest company to join the UK stock market since changes to the listing rules in the summer. The London Stock Exchange has faced challenges this year, with 88 companies delisting or moving their primary listing from the main market, while only 18 have joined.
The future performance of other potential U.K. listings, such as Singapore-based fast fashion giant Shein, will be closely watched by investors.
