Paddington producer Canal+ confirms London IPO plans for December

French media giant Canal+ has set a date for its planned float on the London Stock Exchange in what could be the capital’s biggest IPO of the year.

Canal+ would separate from Paris-based conglomerate Vivendi and is expected to float in London on 16 December, according to a newly-published prospectus.

The demerger is subject to a vote among Vivendi’s shareholders on 9 December and would come alongside the separation of advertising agency Havas and newly-named publishing business Louis Hachette from the group.

The nearly 500-page prospectus for Canal+’s split and IPO was approved by Britain’s Financial Conduct Authority on Wednesday.

Havas would list on the Euronext in Amsterdam, while Louis Hachette would float in Paris – where Vivendi would also remain listed.

Canal+ would trade in London using the ticker CAN. It was reported last week that the firm was seeking a valuation of up to €8bn (£6.7bn) in its public debut. It declined to comment.

That kind of valuation could put Canal+ in the FTSE 100 and make it by far the biggest London listing this year. It would be the market’s largest deal since GSK and Pfizer spun off healthcare giant Haleon in 2022.

London has attracted just 10 IPOs this year, with the most notable being Raspberry Pi and Applied Nutrition – which were valued at a modest £542m and £350m respectively.

The 23 floats seen in 2023 marked the worst year for listings in almost three decades.

Vivendi’s break-up has been spurred by what it has dubbed a “conglomerate discount”, in which investors had underpriced the sprawling group as a collective.

The firm is planning to hold a capital markets day on 18 November to promote Canal+ to investors, alongside a tour of London fund managers.

Canal+ owns StudioCanal, a producer of the Paddington film series. Earlier this year, it agreed to takeover South African pay-TV giant MultiChoice to grow its international operations.

After floating in London, Canal+ would take a secondary listing in Johannesburg, where MultiChoice is based.