By Adria Calatayud
Vivendi said shareholder CIAM filed an interim injuction with a Paris court seeking to postpone a shareholders' meeting scheduled for next month to vote on the proposed break-up of the French media group.
Paris-based investment firm CIAM, which holds a 0.025% stake in Vivendi, previously said the plan to split Vivendi into four businesses undermined the rights of minority shareholders and that it would vote against the proposed spinoffs of broadcaster Canal+, advertising business Havas and publishing company Louis Hachette Group from Vivendi.
Vivendi said CIAM is seeking to postpone the shareholders' meeting scheduled for Dec. 9 until French courts rule on two lawsuits the investor filed--one challenging the validity of the spinoff project and another against the French markets regulator's decision that Bollore Group--Vivendi's largest shareholder--doesn't need to launch a buyout offer for Vivendi as a result of the split.
The company said the goal of the project is to create value for all shareholders by reducing a so-called conglomerate discount--or a gap between a group's market value and that of the sum of its parts--that has weighed on its valuation for several years.
Vivendi first floated the idea of a break-up in December last year and expected the start of trading of Canal+, Havas and Louis Hachette for Dec. 16, subject to shareholder approval.
Write to Adria Calatayud at adria.calatayud@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 28, 2024 01:24 ET (06:24 GMT)
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