French media group Vivendi to purchase broadcaster Canal Plus
FRENCH media giant Vivendi said it will offer a €495m (£354m) buyout for a controlling stake in Canal Plus.
Vivendi already owns around 48.5 per cent of the company, and yesterday said its supervisory board had approved a public tender offer of €7.60 per share.
The group said it intended to grow its stake in broadcasting unit Canal Plus primarily because a “large number” of the firm’s shareholders had requested it to do so.
Meanwhile, the French firm reported a 7.5 per cent increase in revenue in 2014, up to €2.5bn, beating analysts’ expectations.
Vivendi, which also owns Universal Music recently agreed to buy an 80 per cent stake in video streaming firm Dailymotion.
The company has sold off stakes in several media businesses over the past two years, as part of a restructuring programme, including the $8.2bn (£5.2bn) sale of 85 per cent of its holding in videogame maker Activision Blizzard.