Vivendi: Canal+ raises its stake in Swedish Viaplay to 29%.
February 09, 2024 at 11:21 am
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Canal+, a subsidiary of the Vivendi group, announced on Friday that it had strengthened its position as Viaplay's main shareholder following the finalization of the Swedish video streaming group's recapitalization plan.
In a brief press release, the French audiovisual group states that it now holds 29.3% of the capital of the Nordic video-on-demand platform, up from 12% previously.
For the record, Viaplay recently completed a SEK 4 billion (€355 million) recapitalization project that resulted in the restructuring of two billion in debt (€175 million), of which 500 million (€45 million) was converted into shares.
Maxime Saada, Canal+'s CEO, welcomed the prospect of a fresh start for the company.
With a well-balanced capital structure, a clear roadmap and a new management team, Viaplay has now laid the foundations for a successful turnaround", he said.
"Our group's support for Viaplay is a further illustration of our ambition to become a global player in video entertainment and to expand our international footprint, with a focus on Europe, Africa and Asia", he added.
On the Stockholm Stock Exchange, Viaplay shares gained 2.5% after this announcement, but are still down 99% since the severe downward revision of its June 2023 financial targets.
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Vivendi SE consists of several leading companies in the content production, communication and media:
- Groupe Canal +: a leading operator in pay television in France, Benelux, Poland, Central Europe, Africa and Asia;
- Lagardère: publishing, media and travel retail group;
- Studiocanal: Europe's leading player in the production, acquisition, distribution and international sales of films and TV series;
- Havas: a world-leading communications group organized into three operating units that cover all businesses in the sector (creativity, media expertise and health/well-being);
- Prisma Media: market leader in French magazine publishing, online video and daily digital audience;
- Editis (discontinued operation): second French publishing group and leader in several fields including general literature, youth, practice, illustrated, comics, education and reference;
- Gameloft: a world leader in mobile video games;
- Vivendi Village: it is comprised of the international ticketing company See Tickets, the promoter and festival owner Olympia Production (France), the festival owner U Live (the United Kingdom), the Paris-based concert halls Olympia and the Théâtre de l'Oeuvre, the cinema and entertainment venues CanalOlympia (Africa), and the IP development agency and consultancy The Copyrights Group (IP development agency and consultancy);
- Dailymotion: one of the world's largest platforms for aggregation and distribution of video content (more than 350 million unique users per month);
- Group Vivendi Africa (GVA): a FTTH (Fiber to the home) operator active in Sub-Saharan Africa.