French tycoon Bollore
tightens grip on Vivendi
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[October 10, 2016]
By Dominique Vidalon
PARIS
(Reuters) - French tycoon Vincent Bollore said on Monday that his
investment company had raised its stake in Vivendi <VIV.PA> to above 20
percent, further tightening his hold on the French media group.
The Bollore group will hold around 29 percent of the voting rights of
Vivendi by April 20, 2017, taking into account the double voting rights
of the shares it is buying, the statement said.
Bollore, which held a 15 percent stake in Vivendi, said the share
purchase notably reflected the settlement in cash of an existing hedging
and financing on 34 million Vivendi shares and the acquisition of
another 34.7 millon shares through a share loan agreement maturing on
June 25, 2019.
Under Bollore, who became chairman of Vivendi in 2014, Vivendi has built
a stake in Telecom Italia <TLIT.MI> has and expanded in video games by
taking over Gameloft <GLFT.PA> and buying a stake of 22.8 percent in
Ubisoft <UBIP.PA> .
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"These operations reflect the confidence the Bollore Group has in
Vivendi's potential for development and its willingness to remain as
reference shareholder of the company in the long term," the statement
said.
By 0737 GMT Vivendi shares gained 1.30 percent at 18.215 euros while
Bollore shares were up 1.25 percent
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![](../images/101016PICS/busine28.jpg)
File photo of Vincent Bollore, Chairman of media group Vivendi,
reacts during the company's shareholders meeting in Paris, France,
April 21, 2016. REUTERS/Charles Platiau/File Photo
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"We see this more as a move to consolidate the long-term control of the
company, perhaps for the benefit of the next generation of Bollores,
rather than a conviction that certain share price drivers (recovery at
Canal Plus) are about to turn positive," Kepler Cheuvreux analysts said
in a note.
"That said, the investment in Vivendi now represents close to 5 billion
euros, more than half the market cap of Bollore group, so the long-term
conviction can be said to be firmer than ever," the note added.
(Reporting by Dominique Vidalon; Editing by Geert De Clercq)
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