French TV and film giant Canal+ has launched its shares on the London Stock Exchange in one of the biggest new listings for the City in recent years.
The company fetched a valuation of about £2.6 billion when its shares began trading on Monday morning.
Shares were trading just under 260p shortly after markets opened. But the share price dipped to around 245p after 9am.
The decision for Paris-based Canal+ to list in London was hailed by Chancellor Rachel Reeves as a “vote of confidence” in the UK’s stock market.
The media giant is behind films including the Paddington franchise, Back to Black and Love Actually through its studio business, StudioCanal.
Last week, shareholders of its former owner Vivendi approved plans to split up the group.
This involved spinning off its three main subsidiaries into separate companies – communications group Havas, newly formed publishing division Louis Hachette Group and Canal+.
London is the best location for Canal+, as a global media and entertainment powerhouse, to list as a publicly traded company
Canal+ listed its shares in London, Havas in Amsterdam, and Louis Hachette in Paris.
Ms Reeves, having met with bosses of the company on Friday ahead of the flotation, said she was “delighted that Canal+, a leading international media company, has chosen the UK”.
Maxime Saada, chairman and chief executive, said the firm believes “London is the best location for Canal+, as a global media and entertainment powerhouse, to list as a publicly traded company”.
London’s stock market has seen several companies move their primary listings abroad and a raft of listed firms taken private following acquisitions.
IPOs are often hit with volatility during the first few hours, days and even weeks of trading, and the choice of London as a destination for the spin off company is still a boost for the City
Other significant initial public offerings (IPO) in London this year include Cambridge-based computer firm Raspberry Pi, which was valued at about £540 million in June, and sports health business Applied Nutrition, which fetched a valuation of around £350 million in October.
Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets for Hargreaves Lansdown, said it was a “disappointing” debut on Monday.
“It was not a blockbuster open for the film production company which saw shares fall by more than 13%,” she said.
“However, IPOs are often hit with volatility during the first few hours, days and even weeks of trading, and the choice of London as a destination for the spin off company is still a boost for the City, especially given that the decision was made due to London’s appeal among international investors.
“Its former parent company Vivendi is also spreading cheer in Paris and Amsterdam where it has spun off Louis Hachette and Havas, which both rose as trading kicked off.”
