By Leo Marchandon, Gianluca Lo Nostro and Florence Loeve
(Reuters) -Shares of Canal+ fell on their London debut on Monday while fellow Vivendi spinoffs Havas and Louis Hachette rose in Amsterdam and Paris, after shareholders of the French media conglomerate voted in favour of the high-stakes split.
Shares of broadcaster Canal+ opened at 290 pence, giving it a market value of 2.9 billion pounds ($3.7 billion), but fell around 16% from that price to 242 pence by 1106 GMT.
At that market value, Canal+ would have been eligible to join the FTSE 250 index, but its French domicile prevents it from being integrated into any indexes.
While Canal+ aims to expand its investor base through the London listing, its exclusion from indexes might limit its ability to attract new capital, particularly from tracker funds.
Hargreaves Lansdown analyst Susannah Streeter said new listings were often hit with volatility during the first few hours, days and even weeks of trading.
“The choice of London as a destination for the spin-off company is still a boost for the City,” she said.
Canal+’s decision to list in London, announced in July, was a much-needed boost for Britain’s stock exchange which has seen a series of departures and few high-profile joiners in recent years. On Friday, British finance minister Rachel Reeves hailed it as a “vote of confidence” in the country’s market.
BUMPY RIDE
EndersAnalysis analyst François Godard told Reuters that bumpy trading in Canal+ was expected until the company’s narrative was fully grasped by investors.
“It (Canal+) is both incumbent and digital, profitable but not the way streamers are profitable, it is growing but not next year, it is expanding in Africa, which investors don’t really understand,” he said.
Shares in advertising company Havas rose around 6% to 1.91 euros each compared to their opening price on Euronext Amsterdam. Publisher Louis Hachette’s shares were trading at 1.42 euros apiece on Euronext Growth Paris, up 18% on the opening price.
PhiTrust, a minority shareholder in Vivendi, told Reuters it was too early to determine whether the break-up plan has been successful and that the share price moves of its three former units reflected market adjustments.
Streeter said she viewed the triple listing as a boost for European stock exchanges in light of the attention garnered by New York.
Vivendi, backed by the Bollore family, resumed trading on Euronext Paris without the spinoffs.
($1 = 0.9514 euros)
($1 = 0.7916 pounds)
(Reporting by Gianluca Lo Nostro and Leo Marchandon in Gdansk, Florence Loève in Paris; additional reporting by Paul SandleEditing by Milla Nissi and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
