Canal+ shares fell by a fifth on its admission to the London Stock Exchange on Monday.
The French pay-TV operator was making its debut after investors chose to approve the break up from its parent company Vivendi.
The arrival was a welcome boost to the City after a year of weak IPO activity. However, Canal+ shares fell by 16% from an opening price of 290p to 244.2p before midday.
Communications group Havas shares were up 6% approaching midday on Monday in Amsterdam, while Hachette added more than 16% to 244.2p in Paris.
Since 2016, Canal+ has almost tripled its international subscriber base, with nearly two-thirds of its 26.8 million subscribers now outside France and over 400 million monthly active users worldwide on its OTT and video streaming platforms.
“As we join the London Stock Exchange, we are excited to continue to deliver on our ambition to provide the best entertainment and value proposition to subscribers globally,” said Maxime Saada, CEO of Canal+ “With a growing presence in high-growth markets and transformational potential acquisitions like MultiChoice in Africa, I am proud to lead Canal+ into its next chapter and would like to thank each and every member of our team who has made today possible.”
Canal+’s Ordinary Shares were admitted to trading at 08.00 GMT on 16 December 2024, under the ticker (CAN.L)
