Finance
French court hears opening arguments in Bolloré/Vivendi break-up dispute
Published by Global Banking and Finance Review
Posted on November 25, 2025
3 min readLast updated: January 20, 2026
Global Banking and Finance Review
Company
Published by Global Banking and Finance Review
Posted on November 25, 2025
3 min readLast updated: January 20, 2026
France's court hears a dispute involving Bolloré and Vivendi, potentially leading to a buyout of minority shareholders and setting a governance precedent.
By Florence Loeve, Leo Marchandon and Gianluca Lo Nostro
(Reuters) -France's highest civil court heard arguments on Tuesday in a legal dispute that could require the billionaire Bolloré family to buy out minority shareholders of Vivendi for several billions of euros.
Vivendi's lawyer Alain Benabent argued that the appeals court had "exceeded its powers", while Bolloré's lawyer argued that it had wrongly broadened the interpretation of control beyond majority voting rights, urging the Cour de Cassation to adhere to a narrower reading of French corporate law.
"The Bolloré group does not control Vivendi" he stated, downplaying the personal influence of Vincent Bolloré.
Although Bolloré SE directly owns only 29.9% of Vivendi, the Paris Court of Appeal ruled in April 2025 that the family exercised effective control of the company due to their larger influence over it, and that the treasury shares of Vivendi should be counted as theirs, surpassing the 30% threshold.
Minority shareholder CIAM, an activist fund opposing Vivendi and Bollore, countered with calls by its legal counsel Patrice Spinosi for a "realistic and practical" standard for determining corporate control. Spinosi urged the court to more strictly scrutinise shareholder strategies that respect legal thresholds in appearance while circumventing their effectiveness.
Bolloré's side is pushing the court to dismiss the case without sending it back to a lower court, while CIAM warned the Cour de cassation against such a decision.
CIAM told Reuters last week that it would escalate the case to the European Court of Human Rights if the court rules against them and does not send it back to a lower court.
Bollore's representatives and Vivendi declined to comment on the case.
France's financial regulator, the Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF), chose not to provide observations on the case to the court.
The court's advocate general, whose recommendations are influential but non-binding, advised overturning the appeals court's decision. The Cour de Cassation's ruling, expected on Friday, could set a landmark precedent for corporate governance in France.
A decision against Bolloré SE could result in a compulsory buyout of Vivendi's minority shareholders, straining the finances of the family business as it shifts focus from logistics to media assets.
JPMorgan analysts have estimated a 35% chance of a mandatory buyout being imposed and said Bolloré might consider launching a voluntary offer if the court rules in its favour.
(Reporting by Leo Marchandon and Gianluca Lo Nostro in Gdansk, Florence Loeve in Paris; Editing by Matt Scuffham)
Minority shareholders are individuals or entities that own less than 50% of a company's shares, giving them limited influence over company decisions compared to majority shareholders.
A buyout occurs when an investor or group of investors purchases a controlling interest in a company, often to take it private or restructure its operations.
Effective control refers to the ability of a shareholder or group to influence or direct the decisions of a company, even if they do not own a majority of shares.
Treasury shares are shares that were once part of the outstanding shares of a company but were later repurchased by the company itself and are held in its treasury.
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