Vincent Bollore dodged a $9 billion-plus bullet
earlier this week when an appeals court in Paris ruled that he did not exercise control over media conglomerate Vivendi during the period when the company divided itself into four separate companies.
They included a newly independent Havas, now publicly traded on the Euronext Amsterdam Exchange.
The news was reported by several European outlets including Reuters. One investor group, CIAM, said it
would appeal to the French Supreme Court, reports indicated.
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The issue of Bollore’s control of the company has been the subject of minority shareholder lawsuits and appeals to
regulatory bodies since the company split apart in 2024. Each side has won a couple of rounds.
It’s not clear when the legal battle will end, but if it is determined that Bollore did
exercise control, French laws would require Bollore Group to make a tender offer for outstanding minority shares of Vivendi and its spin-off companies. Analysts peg the value of that tender at between
$9 and $10 billion.
Vivendi issued a statement confirming the Appeals Court decision, saying it “fully confirms” an earlier court analysis that Bollore
did not control the company. Bollore did not issue a comment.
Vincent Bollore Photo Credit: Thesupermat /
Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)