Cheers for City after Canal+ gives green light to London listing: Shares in French cinema to start trading before Christmas

The French production company behind the Paddington films will list in London this month after investors approved the spin-off of its parent company.

As a promotion for the City, Vivendi’s shareholders voted overwhelmingly for the spin-off of Canal+ and other parts of the business at a meeting in Paris.

Shares in the newly independent Canal+ will start trading in London on Monday next week.

The listing of the famous company is considered a major victory for the stock market after the departure of firms from the London market.

The move is part of a divestment of entertainment group Vivendi, controlled by the billionaire Bollore family, to increase the value of its business units.

Some 95% of shareholders voted in favor of the split at a meeting in the French capital yesterday afternoon despite objections from some minority shareholders.

Analysts said it was marked by a strong agreement that ‘London is open for business, it’s an attractive market’.

However, activist investor CIAM, which owns 0.025 percent in Vivendi, said it would go ahead with legal action to block the liquidation.

Communications firm Havas and publisher Louis Hachette Group are also joining private companies as part of a major shake-up.

Havas advertising business listed in Amsterdam, Hachette floated in Paris.

Shares in the new firms will begin trading on December 16.

After the election, Vivendi became a listed investment holding company, controlling a 10 percent stake in Universal Music Group after being spun off three years ago.

Canal+ is estimated to be worth £5 billion, Havas £2.1billion and Hachette £1.8billion, according to investment bank JP Morgan.

Dan Coatsworth, an investment analyst at broker AJ Bell, said: ‘Vivendi is getting the green light to switch Canal+ brands to the rest of the world and London is open for business, a market beautiful

‘Vivendi would not have chosen the listing site if it thought there was a list of investors waiting to join.’

Susannah Streeter at investment firm Hargreaves Lansdown added: ‘The UK is looking more attractive than its European peers, especially given the political instability that has erupted in France.’

There was a dispute between CIAM and the Bollore family before the election. The minority investor argued that the turnaround would only benefit Vivendi’s largest shareholder, led by French billionaire businessman Vincent Bollore.

It warned that the split would leave minority shareholders unprotected under French stock market laws.

But CIAM’s attempt to delay yesterday’s meeting failed last week when an injunction issued by a French court failed.