(News Bulletin 247) – This body, responsible for deciding on the composition of the CAC 40, will meet on Tuesday after the market closes, on this subject.

Vivendi’s days in the CAC 40 may be numbered. The scientific council of Euronext, the body responsible for deciding on the composition of the major Parisian stock market indices, will meet on Tuesday December 17 to rule on the presence of the media and video games group in the flagship index of the Stock Exchange from Paris.

A close source indicated to News Bulletin 247 that this council will hold its meeting after Tuesday’s close on this subject, confirming information previously reported by the Agefi-Dow Jones agency.

A split that risks weighing

The day before, Monday December 16, the separation into four distinct entities of Vivendi, via the listing of three of its companies, will be effective. Canal+ will be listed on the London Stock Exchange, Havas in Amsterdam and Louis Hachette Group on Euronext Growth, the compartment reserved for small market capitalizations of the Paris Stock Exchange. Vivendi will only retain the video game publisher Gameloft and a few stakes, notably its share of just under 10% in the record company Universal Music Group or that in Telecom Italia.

This separation into four groups will mechanically weigh on the market capitalization of Vivendi which is already one of the lowest in the CAC 40 (8.5 billion euros).

However, floating capitalization remains, with trading volumes, one of the two main (but not only) criteria on which the council bases itself to render its opinion.

On Thursday, the scientific council left the composition of the CAC 40 unchanged following its quarterly review of the indices. But he made three changes to the SBF 120.

A widely approved project

Remember that, on Monday, Vivendi’s general meeting approved by a large majority (97.5%) this proposed split into four entities.

During this meeting, the chairman of the supervisory board of Vivendi, Yannick Bolloré, recalled the genesis of the project: splitting the company into four to reduce the heavy conglomerate discount. At the end of 2023, before the group announced its split plan, this discount represented 45%, according to Barclays.

By listing Canal+, Havas and Louis Hachette separately, Vivendi intends to obtain more generous valuation multiples for each entity and therefore create value for its shareholders, first and foremost the Bolloré group. Vivendi succeeded very well in 2021 by listing Universal Music Group in Amsterdam. The record company is now worth 42 billion euros on the stock market.

The decision to list Canal+ in London and Havas in Amsterdam may, however, have raised some eyebrows, such as those of investors Phitrust and CIAM, who believe that it will not create value. This, because the three new companies on the stock exchange (Canal+ in London, Havas in Amsterdam and Louis Hachette Group on Euronext Growth) would be listed on markets where Groupe Bolloré (which currently holds a little less than 30% of Vivendi) will be able to increase its influence. without having to launch a public offer, explained Phitrust and Ciam.