Paris’s Court of Appeal handed Vincent Bolloré a major legal victory on Wednesday, ruling that the French billionaire and his holding company Bolloré SE did not control Vivendi at the time of the media conglomerate’s 2024 overhaul. The decision removes, for now, the threat of a mandatory buyout offer analysts had estimated could cost between €6 billion and €9 billion.
The ruling is a significant win for Bolloré, whose influence over France’s media landscape has drawn mounting scrutiny in recent years through assets linked to CNews, Europe 1, the Journal du Dimanche and the Hachette publishing house. It also comes as Canal+, the pay-TV group spun off from Vivendi as part of the break-up, continues its international expansion, including the recent acquisition of South African broadcaster MultiChoice.
The dispute stems from Vivendi’s late-2024 shakeup, which split the conglomerate into four separately listed entities: Canal+ in media, Havas in communications/advertising, Louis Hachette Group in publishing, and a reduced Vivendi holding company. Canal+ listed on the London Stock Exchange as part of the split and has since added a secondary listing in Johannesburg.
CIAM, an activist minority investor that holds a 0.025% stake in Vivendi, argued that the restructuring allowed Bolloré to keep his stake just under France’s 30% mandatory-bid threshold, while still exercising effective control over Vivendi thanks to his personal stature and influence. Had the court agreed, Bolloré could have been forced to launch a mandatory offer for Vivendi’s remaining minority shares.
But the Paris court rejected that argument and ruled that neither Vincent Bolloré nor Bolloré SE had directly or indirectly held an absolute majority of voting rights exercised at Vivendi shareholder meetings. That finding also applies to the wider Bolloré Group.
The court ordered CIAM to pay roughly €350,000 in legal costs, split between Bolloré and Vivendi. CIAM has already said it will appeal to France’s supreme civil court, the Cour de cassation.
This is not the first time the Paris courts have weighed in on the dispute. In April 2025, the Court of Appeal ruled against Bolloré; but the Cour de cassation quashed that ruling in November 2025 and sent the case back to a differently composed appeals panel. Wednesday’s decision largely confirms the top court’s reasoning.
The market reaction was swift. Shares in Vivendi fell 10% shortly after the ruling was announced. The decision also eases a concern around Universal Music Group. Bolloré Group holds a stake in UMG, and investors had speculated that Bolloré might have needed to sell down part of that position to help finance a forced Vivendi buyout. With the mandatory-offer scenario off the table for now, that pressure has eased.
Beyond the courtroom, Bolloré’s influence over France’s media ecosystem is likely to remain under political scrutiny as the country heads toward its 2027 presidential campaign.
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