(Reuters) -Shares in Vivendi rose by up to 12.5% in early trade, on Friday, after the French financial regulator, or AMF, said majority shareholder Vincent Bolloré and its holding company Bolloré SE would have to launch a public buyout offer.
In December 2024, Vivendi carried out a scission, splitting the company into four entities: Vivendi, Havas, Canal+, and Louis Hachette Group.
Following a Paris Court of Appeal ruling in April this year, the AMF said in a statement on Friday it had determined that Bolloré’s control over Vivendi triggered regulatory provisions that would require a public tender offer.
The decision aims to protect minority shareholders that said the split harmed their rights and the value of their shares.
The French authority added Vincent Bolloré and its holding company will have to file a squeeze-out offer within six months, requiring them to buy all the shares owned by minority shareholders to delist Vivendi from the stock exchange.
The process will only close after the French Supreme Court rules on pending appeals, it said.
Vivendi declined to comment and Bolloré SA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Shares in Vivendi were at the top of the French SBF120 index and are on track for their best day since the spin-off, if gains hold.
(Reporting by Mathias de Rozario in Gdansk; editing by Barbara Lewis)
