Paris, February 23, 2016

 

Vivendi has acquired a 26.2% interest
in Banijay Group

 

Vivendi has acquired a 26.2% interest in Banijay Group, one of the world’s largest independent television production and distribution companies, following the completion of the merger between Banijay and Zodiak Media announced today.

This investment is part of the Group’s intention to develop itself into original content production. Banijay Group is a formidable community of creative talent who are developing the new generation of quality entertainment programs.

With revenues of around €900 million and operations in more than 17 countries, Banijay Group own a powerful portfolio of popular brands and formats in the fields of entertainment, drama, factual, reality entertainment, docu-dramas, as well as children’s and animation programs.

Vivendi’s investment in Banijay Group represents a cash payment of €290 million, including €100 million for a 26.2% interest in the new combined entity. In addition, Vivendi subscribed to two bonds for €100 million and €90 million issued by Banijay Group and Lov Banijay, a holding structure controlled by Stéphane Courbit, respectively, each of which is redeemable at the issuer’s option in shares or cash. Both bonds have a 7-year maturity.

 

 

About Vivendi

Vivendi is an integrated media and content group. The company operates businesses throughout the media value chain, from talent discovery to the creation, production and distribution of content. The main subsidiaries of Vivendi comprise Canal+ Group and Universal Music Group. Canal+ is the leading pay-TV operator in France, and also serves markets in Africa, Poland and Vietnam. Canal+ operations include Studiocanal, a leading European player in production, sales and distribution of film and TV series. Universal Music Group is the world leader in recorded music, music publishing and merchandising, with more than 50 labels covering all genres. A separate division, Vivendi Village, brings together Vivendi Ticketing (ticketing in the UK, the U.S and France), MyBestPro (experts counseling), Watchever (subscription video-on-demand), Radionomy (digital radio), the Paris-based concert venue L’Olympia, the future CanalOlympia venues in Africa and the Théâtre de l‘Oeuvre in Paris. With 3.5 billion videos viewed each month, Dailymotion is one of the biggest video content aggregation and distribution platforms in the world. www.vivendi.com, www.cultureswithvivendi.com