Vivendi, the parent company of Havas, is set to list the agency group on Euronext Amsterdam if its split plan is approved by shareholders.
Announced in Vivendi’s H1 2024 report, Yannick Bolloré, chairman of Vivendi’s supervisory board, added: “If [the project] were to be completed, this value-creating and profoundly transformative project would offer exciting prospects for all our stakeholders.”
Having presented an update to the supervisory board that demonstrated the feasibility of the project, Vivendi also identified the London Stock Exchange as the most suitable stock exchange for Canal+ and Euronext Growth Paris for the newly named Louis Hachette Group, which will group its assets in publishing and distribution.
The report detailed that Havas and Canal+, although listed outside France, would keep their operational teams in France and remain French tax residents for income-tax purposes.
The decision to carry out this project is to be taken at the end of October 2024, with the aim of submitting it to shareholders in December 2024. A two-thirds majority is needed to approve the plan.
It follows Havas’ organic growth rising by 3.4% in H1 2024, with $1.6 billion (£1.3 billion) in net revenue. In H1 2023, Havas recorded $1.38 billion (€1.27 billion) net revenue.
The company said aquisitions, including Uncommon Creative Studio, Eprofessional, Shortcut and Ledger Bennett, created an “impact” of 3.5% on Havas' growth. "The creative and media divisions posted strong performances," the company said.
Arnaud de Puyfontaine, chief executive of Vivendi, said that “Havas is maintaining its dynamic."
De Puyfontaine also praised Havas' recently announced "Converged" plan, saying it had "strengthened" the group's strategic plan overall. A marketing-engagement platform, which helps advertisers to reach audiences without using third-party cookies, Vivendi is set to invest $434.8 million (€400 million) in data, tech and AI for the platform over the next four years.
For the wider group, Bolloré said the “significantly improved half-year results” were driven by its ”three main businesses”, a trio which also includes Canal+ Group and Lagardère. The performance of these three led to a 5.8% organic revenue increase to $9.8 billion (€9.05 billion), with the increase also being heavily driven by consolidation of Lagardère.
