Shares of French broadcaster Canal+ fell 22% in a London listing after the Vivendi spin-off

He contributed to French radio Channel + It fell 22% after its debut on the London stock market on Monday.

Media Holding Company Living Shareholders agreed last week to spin off Canal+, a pay-TV production company known for its live sports broadcasts, and Studiocanal, which franchises the Paddington films.

Shares were trading at around 226 British pence ($2.86) at market close, down 21.9% from the open.

Meanwhile, Paris-listed Vivendi shares closed 41.74% higher by the end of the session.

“Vivendi was suffering from a conglomerate discount. So when I looked at the value of Vivendi, it was less than 10 billion euros ($10.52 billion), and the sum-of-the-parts estimate was much greater than that. So, to open that up,” Maxime Saade, CEO of Canal+, told the programme. “The potential value of each of these assets, hence the split,” Squawk Box Europe on CNBC on Monday.

“Canal+ was a very French company, with almost 9 million subscribers, and in just 10 years, it has tripled the number of subscribers. Now two-thirds of our subscriber base is outside France, in Africa. And in Eastern Europe, Asia and of course in France.”

Saadeh added that the separate channel Canal+ will seek to expand its presence as a sports broadcaster to compete with American players in a selective manner.

“Every company I’ve seen in our business has already died from overspending on sports,” he said. “We’re not dependent on any type of content, or any piece of content. And because we have such broad value exposure across cinema, sports and platforms, we can pass on rights when we think they’re too expensive.”

Havas and Louis Hachette Group will also be separated from the media group headquartered in Paris, and will be listed on Euronext Amsterdam and Euronext Growth Paris, respectively.

“We are pleased with the very high adoption rate of our spin-off project. This indisputable result confirms the strong support of our shareholders for this transformative transaction,” Yannick Bolloret, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Vivendi, said in a statement last week after the plan. It was approved by more than 97% of the votes.

The listing of Canal+London was seen as a way to provide much-needed support to UK capital markets after a significant series of departures over recent years. Councilor Rachel Reeves on Friday described the debut as a “vote of confidence.”

“I am delighted that CANAL+, a leading international media company, has chosen the UK. Their decision is a vote of confidence in the UK capital markets, the stability we offer and our plan for change,” she said in a statement. the time.

This comes as the London Stock Exchange appears prepared for the worst year in terms of departures since the financial crisis, according to the Financial Times. a report Citing LSEG, a total of 88 companies have delisted or transferred their primary listing from the main London market this year, while only 18 have joined.

The departure of the London Stock Exchange took place despite government and regulatory moves to enhance London’s attractiveness as an investment centre Fix listing rules In an attempt to compete with competing markets, especially in the United States

“London’s selection of Canal+ is significant as it is the largest company to join the UK stock market since changes to listing rules in the summer and under the newly installed Labor government,” Ross Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said via email.

“If Canal+ performs well, it could act as a shop window for other big names floating in London and help replenish the balance that has been squeezed by takeovers and write-downs,” he added.

Investors will now be closely watching the fate of other potential UK listings, including Singapore-based fast fashion giant Shein. The online fashion group has been engaged in ongoing discussions with the British government after its US flotation bid was suspended amid opposition to its ties with Beijing and wider business practices.