French media giant behind Paddington films to list on London stock market

The French TV company behind the Paddington films is set to revive London’s stock market after getting the green light to list next week.

Canal+ will debut its shares on the London Stock Exchange on Monday after getting the approval of the shareholders of its owner, Vivendi.

It is set to be a major listing for the City following a string of London-listed companies being taken private or moving their shares to foreign markets.

Canal+ was founded as a French TV channel and is now a global media company, having produced films including the Paddington films, Total Recall and Back to Black through its studio brand.

Yannick Bollore, chair of Vivendi’s supervisory board, said he was “delighted” with the support for the “spin-off project”.

The media giant had set out plans to split its three main subsidiaries: Canal+; communications group Havas; and newly-formed publishing division Louis Hachette Group, into separate companies.

Canal+ will launch in London, while Havas will list in Amsterdam and Louis Hachette in Paris, spreading the investment across Europe.

The plans were approved with 97.5% of shareholders voting in favour at a meeting in Paris.

Mr Bollore is also the chief executive of Havas and a member of the prominent Bollore family, whose media group has a near 30% stake in Vivendi.

Vivendi also has a minority stake in Universal Music Group.

Mr Bollore added: “This undisputable result confirms the strong support of our shareholders for this transformative transaction.

“We are convinced that this new chapter for Canal+, Havas and Louis Hachette Group will be very promising and create value for all stakeholders.”