Mixed news for British fans of Paddington Bear. The French company behind the movie franchise is planning to list in London shortly, but it will not be joining the FTSE 100 after all. Vivendi, the media conglomerate, still plans to demerge its Canal+ division and list its shares in London on December 16. But, for not entirely clear reasons, it will not make it into prestigious FTSE indices, it said in the prospectus published on Wednesday.
Only last week the investment platform AJ Bell was citing Canal+ as a prime candidate to get a slot in the index of blue chips. In a report entitled “Paddington to the rescue”, it wrote: “Canal+ could be a big hit with investors if the valuation is attractive and it communicates a compelling strategy on how it intends to grow on a standalone basis, freed from the shackles of being owned by a media conglomerate.”
The planned listing is still seen as a bit of a coup for London, bruised after…
