VIVENDI EXPLORING UMG IPO

Vivendi has started to review the possibility of listing UMG, CEO Arnaud de Puyfontaine (pictured) confirmed on Thursday. Reuters broke the story.

“We have started work that will allow us to present the benefits of a potential listing of UMG to the supervisory board,” de Puyfontaine said at Vivendi’s annual general meeting in Paris.

UMG’s streaming-boosted value continues its dramatic growth, which has led to growing speculation about an IPO in recent months, as well as driving up Vivendi stock.

In fact, Vivendi brass have been mulling over the notion of a public offering for some time. Last June, Chairman Vincent Bolloré, speaking at Vivendi’s annual shareholders meeting in Paris, came up with a now-famous analogy. “The key question for an IPO,” he said, referring to UMG, “is to know when is the best time to do it. It’s like cheese puffs—you have to take them out at the right moment.”

Another translation had Bolloré referring to a soufflé. In any case, it now appears that the oven is heating up.