Vivendi Stock News

Vivendi management and bosses of some of its newly spun out companies - Canal+, Havas and Louis Hachette Group - need to lay out more clearly their strategies to convince investors the break-up was worth it, analysts and investors said.

An Italian court is expected to decide this week on a request by Telecom Italia's (TIM) top investor Vivendi to annul the former phone monopoly's decision to sell its landline grid to a consortium led by KKR , a source close to the matter said.

The newly listed spinoffs of Vivendi have seen their shares decline in their first week of trading, after being listed on Monday in a move aimed at unwinding the conglomerate discount of tycoon Vincent Bollore's media empire.

Vivendi's newly spun-off entities Canal+, Havas and Louis Hachette Group will start trading in London, Amsterdam and Paris respectively on Monday, after shareholders of the French media conglomerate voted overwhelmingly in favour of the high-stakes split project on Dec. 9.

More than 97.5% of shareholders' votes were in favor of plans to spin off its television business Canal+, its advertising and public relations business Havas, and create a new company known as Louis Hachette Group.

Advertising firm Havas, set to be spun-off from French media conglomerate Vivendi in December, said on Tuesday it aimed to raise its adjusted operating profit margin to between 14% and 15% by 2028, compared to 12.1% last year.

French broadcaster Canal+ highlighted its intention to become a global-content platform, seeing Asia and Africa as high-growth markets during its Capital Markets Day on Monday, ahead of its prospective listing on the London Stock Exchange.

Vivendi SE reported Q2 earnings with sales increasing by almost 93% due to the acquisition of Lagardère. Company's gross margins and bottom line improved, but EBIT margin faltered, likely due to Lagardère acquisition. Proposed split into three entities (Canal+, Havas, Louis Hachette) may improve focus and performance, with Lagardère showing potential for growth.