Canal+, the international pay-TV company and owner of the studio behind the Paddington film franchise, is to make its multibillion-pound stock market debut in London on Monday, providing a much-needed shot in the arm for the capital’s stock exchange.
The flotation, which the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, has said is a “vote of confidence” in the UK’s capital markets, is set to be the largest new listing in London in two years with some projecting its market value will climb to about €6bn (£4.99bn).
The company is being spun out by the French media conglomerate Vivendi, which has been breaking itself into smaller companies in search of higher valuations for its constituent parts.
The advertising group Havas, the publishing company Louis Hachette and Canal+ will all begin trading shares in stock markets in Amsterdam, Paris and London on Monday.
Vivendi, which is controlled by the billionaire Vincent Bolloré, will not retain shares in any of the businesses. However, Bolloré Group, which owns almost a third of Vivendi, will hold a 30.6% stake in each of the companies.
Vivendi continues to hold 10% of Universal Music, home to stars including Taylor Swift and the Beatles, which was spun off three years ago.
Canal+ intends to use its London listing as a springboard to develop a European streaming champion to challenge Netflix, Disney+ and Amazon.
The company, parent of the production business StudioCanal, owns rights to the Shaun the Sheep series, the Bridget Jones franchise and the Amy Winehouse biopic Back to Black.
It has a presence in more than 50 countries, with about 60% of its almost 27 million subscribers based outside France, and is close to completing a $2.9bn takeover of MultiChoice, Africa’s largest pay-TV operator and Netflix’s biggest streaming rival across the continent with its Showmax service.
Last year, Canal+ took a stake in Viu, a Hong Kong-based streaming service that has more than 62 million monthly users and 13 million paying subscribers.
It will begin trading at a valuation of about €3.5bn on Monday, reflecting Vivendi’s closing price on Friday. But Vivendi executives, and analysts at JP Morgan bank, believe that the company will eventually achieve a market value of €6bn. Not everyone agrees; UBS believes that Canal+ is worth closer to €3bn.
The move, in which the banks, law firms and other advisers to the deal will collect an estimated €80m in fees, provides a boost for the City as a string of high-profile companies have either been taken private or opted to list in rival financial centres such as New York.
The London Stock Exchange is on course for its worst year for departures since the financial crisis. A total of 88 companies have delisted or transferred their primary listing from London’s main market this year, with only 18 taking their place, the biggest net outflow of companies since 2009.
The number of new listings is also on course to be the lowest in 15 years, according to the London Stock Exchange Group. Last week, Ashtead Group, the £27bn construction rental company, announced plans to shift its primary listing from London to New York.
Setbacks in recent years include the Cambridge-based chip designer Arm snubbing the capital, going on to provide New York’s Nasdaq with one of its biggest initial public offerings in recent years.
The diminishing number of UK-listed firms has prompted growing concern about the health of the London market.
On Friday, Maxime Saada and Amandine Ferré, the chief executive and finance boss of Canal+, met Reeves at No 11 Downing Street to discuss the “attractiveness of the UK as a listings destination”.
“Economic growth is my number one mission,” said Reeves. “And attracting more investment to the UK is key. I’m delighted that Canal+ has chosen the UK. Their decision is a vote of confidence in the UK’s capital markets, the stability we are delivering and our plan for change.”
Saada, who will be ringing the bell at market opening on Monday, said he had been made to feel welcome during the listing process.
