Canal+ Buys into Bolloré Group’s TV Business

PARIS: The Canal+ Group is set to acquire a 60-percent stake in the Bolloré Group’s TV business, which includes the free-to-air entertainment channels Direct 8 and Direct Star.

The investment would be paid for with Vivendi shares, estimated at a maximum value of 465 million euros ($645 million). Canal+ would then take over the operational management of the two channels as well as their advertising sales division.

Bertrand Meheut, the president of the Canal+ Group, said:“This partnership is intended to prepare the Canal+ Group for the arrival in the television sector of new operators such as Apple, Netflix, Google, etc. In a context in which these global players have enormous resources and the consumer is confronted with an abundance of choice, the company’s entry into the free television market will enable it to strengthen its capacity to produce distinctive content and enhance its editorial lines with high-quality programs, while using all available operating media to exploit those programs.”

Yannick Bolloré, the president of the Bolloré Group, commented:“This project constitutes a superb opportunity for Direct 8, Direct Star and their employees. After a successful track record over the last few years, in which have become the first independent television operator in France, this merger would enable our channels to experience further successes in a media industry undergoing rapid changes with the advent of all-digital and the arrival of new operators.”