Canal+’s London IPO is a “big loss” for Macron, says MAGGIE PAGANO

President Macron must be gritting his teeth. One of France’s most influential and colourful media moguls, Vincent Bolloré, has chosen the London Stock Exchange to list his global television subsidiary, Canal+, rather than staying in Paris.

It is a major blow to the City and a boost to the LSE, which has suffered an exodus of companies recently.

But it is a huge loss for an already embattled Macron who sees Parisian hegemony over London’s capital markets as one of his many grand ambitions.

Perhaps even more galling for Macron is that Bollore, who is dismantling his £9bn Vivendi empire to create more value, says he chose the City because it is so “international”, reflecting the TV brand’s increasingly global presence.

Two-thirds of Canal+ subscribers are outside France, while its distribution network for films and TV series is global, especially after its recent acquisition of Multichoice, Africa’s largest pay-TV operator.

This is why a London listing makes sense, as the City remains the epicentre, outside New York, for most foreign investors and one of the most liquid markets.

Macron will not like that at all, but the deeply conservative Bolloré, known as the French Rupert Murdoch, has been a thorn in the president’s side for months.

His television channels and newspapers have supported the various right-wing alliances working with Marine Le Pen’s National Rally. He owns CNews, France’s answer to Fox News, and recently appointed a right-wing editor at his popular Sunday paper.

Vivendi’s split into four companies is aimed at breaking the “conglomerate discount” that the company says is holding back its real value on the Paris Stock Exchange, part of Euronext.

Vivendi’s strategy is correct. It is also to spin off and list its advertising group Havas on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange, while the newly named Louis Hachette Group will be listed on the Euronext Growth Market in Paris. The fourth company, Lagardère, will remain on Euronext.

In addition to the Canal+ news, miner Anglo American confirmed plans to list its platinum operations on the LSE once the spin-off is complete.

The outlook for the stock market is looking brighter by the day. British computer firm RaspberryPi recently went public and Chinese fast fashion giant Shein is in talks to take a stock market share.

Later this month, the mood should be even brighter, as the Financial Conduct Authority will carry out the biggest shake-up of IPO rules in years. Labour would do well to keep up the pace of reforms, as it will need healthy public markets if it is to attract investment for its spending plans. Abolishing stamp duty on stock trades would be a smart move.

Royal Mail

Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds is making all the noise he needs over two of the hottest issues in the City, the controversial takeover of Royal Mail and the rescue of Belfast’s Harland & Wolff shipyard.

Reynolds says he “expects” the Government to investigate Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky’s £3.6bn bid to acquire Royal Mail. That sounds like a “yes”. As we have argued here, Kretinsky’s opportunistic takeover deserves serious scrutiny and should be referred to the authorities, if not blocked. There is much in this heavily leveraged bid that needs scrutiny. Who are its secret financial backers? What would happen to UK postal services if Kretinsky cut them back to save money?

As past experience with foreign acquisitions shows, promises made about maintaining services or employee numbers are easily broken.

Reynolds has also dismissed Harland & Wolff’s calls for a financial injection, saying the yard should be left to the market to rescue because of the costs to taxpayers. As there are potential saviours behind the scenes, it is a good move.

Blue dollars

Within hours of Joe Biden dropping out of the presidential race, ActBlue, the small donor arm of the Democrat’s fundraising machine, received nearly $50 million — the largest amount raised in this election cycle.

In addition to big donors like George and Alex Soros pledging money, it’s a sign that rank-and-file Democrats are rallying behind Kamala Harris. So are all of her potential challengers. Harris may be a useless public speaker, but she’ll beat the shit out of Trump in the debates. Follow the money.