Vivendi shares leap 10% as French regulator mandates public withdrawal offer

Published 18/07/2025, 10:18
© Reuters.

Investing.com -- France’s financial regulator has ordered Bollore SA (EPA:BOLL) and Vincent Bolloré to launch a public withdrawal offer for Vivendi SA (EPA:VIV) within six months, dealing a setback to the billionaire media mogul who holds sway over the company.

Vivendi shares surged over 10% in Paris trading on Friday following the announcement.

The Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF) said the move stems from Vivendi’s decision last year to split into four separate entities.

According to the regulator, that restructuring should have triggered a mandatory offer to buy out remaining shareholders.

With most of the breakup already completed, the offer must now be made for the remaining Vivendi entity, which has a market capitalization of €3.24 billion ($3.8 billion).

The decision marks a win for activist investor CIAM, which had challenged the breakup as favoring Bolloré SE—Vivendi’s largest shareholder—at the expense of minority investors. Should a sufficient number of shareholders accept the offer, Vivendi could be taken private.

Vivendi’s dismantling has been one of the most significant and unexpected restructurings within the Bolloré group, aimed at narrowing the group’s conglomerate discount and strengthening control over its holdings.

In April, a Paris court ruled that Vincent Bolloré exerts effective control over Vivendi through his holding company, Bolloré SE, and influences the outcomes of shareholder meetings. The ruling reversed an earlier decision by France’s markets regulator from last November.

Bolloré has appealed the court’s decision, and any public withdrawal offer will remain open until the appeal is resolved.

Latest comments

Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers
© 2007-2025 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.