Canal+ IPO: what you need to know and how to buy shares

Canal+ is a global media company founded in November 1984 as a premium subscription channel under the Canal+ Group banner. The company offers content tailored to its individual markets, with over 100 channels specifically made for its worldwide viewership.

In July 2024, Canal+ announced it would be exploring a listing, most likely in London. However, the location hasn’t yet been confirmed, with rumours of a floatation in Amsterdam doing the rounds, too.¹

It’s working with various advisers, including BNP Paribas, to go public.² This means you’ll be able to buy shares⁶ and trade CFDs with us once it has floated.

Note: CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage.

When could the Canal+ IPO take place?

The Canal+ IPO could take place as early as the end of 2024, but no final decision on timing has been announced yet.

There would also be a secondary listing in Johannesburg, South Africa when the company goes public. Vivendi, the streaming service’s holding company, is set to take over MultiChoice, Africa’s largest pay-TV operator, putting the majority of its viewership outside of France.

How to buy Canal+ shares if the company lists

If you're interested in investing in Canal+ once it goes public, here's a step-by-step guide on how to buy shares:

1. Do your research on IPOs: before investing, it's crucial to understand the risks and potential rewards associated with IPO investing. Familiarise yourself with Canal+'s business model, financials and growth prospects
2. Open a share trading account: to buy shares, you'll need a share trading account. We offer a user-friendly platform for buying shares in newly listed companies
3. After the listing, search for Canal+ on our platform: once Canal+ is listed, you can find it by searching for its ticker symbol or company name on the IG platform
4. Choose the number of shares you want to buy or the amount of money you wish to invest: decide how much you want to invest based on your financial goals and risk tolerance
5. Open your trade: execute your order to buy Canal+ shares

When investing in shares, you own the stock and become a shareholder in the company. You'll profit if the share price rises above the point at which you bought, or potentially from any dividends paid.⁶ However, it's important to note that you could get back less than you put in.

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You can also trade Canal+ shares with us using leveraged products. We offer a CFD trading account. When you trade using leverage, you open a position worth more than the funds you deposit to magnify your position size. This means you could gain or lose money quickly, and could end up losing more than your initial deposit. It's a higher-risk way to trade and requires thorough risk management.

What will Canal+ be valued at and what could the share price be?

Canal+ is yet to be valued and its share price is undetermined. However, martech analyst, Alex DeGroote, believes it could be looking at a valuation of between €6 billion – €7 billion.³

When valuing a private company prior to it floating on a stock exchange, an investment bank is hired to help determine the value of the business and its shares. The bank will take into account numerous factors such as:

• Comparable companies

It will look at similar companies within the same industry as a benchmark for what the soon-to-IPO business should be valued at. Investors are most likely to pay similar amounts for industry-related companies, so this is a logical way to determine a company’s value.

• Demand for shares

High demand for a company’s stock will drive up its valuation, even if the business isn’t actually worth that. Companies tend to IPO when there’s a decent enough demand for their shares.

• Growth projections

In Canal+’s case, the purpose of its pending IPO is to raise capital for further growth. If its expansion plans are aggressive, then it’s more likely to be valued at a higher figure.

• Narrative

Unlike the others in this list, the company’s story isn’t a quantifiable determining factor. Companies with new business models or groundbreaking technology tend to be valued higher due to the excitement around their offering.

In addition, some businesses might hire industry experts and seasoned leaders to bolster the company’s reputation, driving up the valuation.

What is the Canal+ business model?

The Canal+ business model is pay-TV, provided internationally in countries across Europe, Africa, Asia-Pacific, the Caribbean and the Indian Ocean.⁴

Vivendi announced in December 2023 that it plans to split three of its businesses into separate entities: Canal+, Havas and a newly named company, Louis Hachette Group.⁵ This, along with the IPO of Canal+, are part of owner Vincent Bollore’s efforts to reach a higher market value for the company, which he believes is currently undervalued.

Canal+ claims to be accelerating its distribution strategy, providing joint offers with major international telecom operators, such as A1 Telekom Austria.

It’s also made its way into hardware; in 2023, it launched a 4K connected decoder which promises an ‘immersive, ultra-fast experience, with access to more than 50,000 programmes on demand and more than 200 live channels’.⁴

¹ Financial Times, 2024
² Reuters, 2024
³ The Media Leader, 2024
⁴ Canal Plus Group, 2024
⁵ Financial Times, 2024
⁶ ##investment_disclaimer##