‘Paddington’ Firm Canal+’s Shares Down On Day One Of London Trading

Shares in Paddington producer Canal+ dropped 20% this morning after the French pay-TV giant was spun off from Vivendi and listed in London.

Canal+ debuted on the London Stock Exchange earlier, with execs attending an opening morning ceremony to mark the major move.

The British government hailed the decision to list in London as a “vote of confidence” in the UK, although shares were down 20% just after 12 p.m. (4 a.m. PT) local time at about 231p. This gives Canal+ a valuation of around £2.3B ($3.1B), well below the €5B ($5.3B) estimate made by JP Morgan analysts last month.

We are told the dip was largely expected among investors, as many Vivendi shareholders who automatically assumed Canal+ stock have been forced to sell as they are restricted to owning non-French stock. A source told Deadline that Canal+’s management are largely satisfied with the debut and expect the share price to steadily rise going forwards. “The success of this listing will be truly known in a year’s time,” they added.

Canal+ CEO Maxime Saada told CNBC that London had been selected due to Canal+’s focus on English-speaking markets, having invested in productions such as Paddington in Peru and African pay-TV giant MultiChoice, which it is in the process of acquiring. Canal+ is also dramas such as Paris Has Fallen and James Norton-starring ITV series Playing Nice.

The news comes after Vivendi’s board approved the plan to split its core businesses in three, with Canal+ listing in London, ad business Havas on the Euronext Amsterdam and publisher Louis Hachette Group on the Euronext Growth Paris.

Vivendi is listed in Paris, retaining its stakes in the likes of Banijay, MediaForEurope, Telecom Italia, Telefónica and Prisa. It has owned Canal+ since 2000. Shares in Vivendi, Havas and Louis Hachette are all up this morning.

Protecting ‘Paddington’

Meanwhile, Saada addressed the importance of protecting British properties such as the Paddington brand in a separate interview with the BBC. Saada said Canal+ had received “some feedback from American companies that Paddington the Bear is not American enough,” but vowed its sensibilities would remain British.

He added that Studiocanal+, Canal’s production arm, could have chosen to “maximize” Paddington In Peru‘s box office numbers by making “an American movie,” but that this would not have worked out as a long-term play.

“This is the most British bear,” said Saada. “It has appealed to a lot of people because it is authentic… This is really our most prized intellectual property [and] we are very careful about being very close to its roots and authentic.”