Billionaire investor Vincent Bolloré has now acquired more than 14 per cent of entertainment conglomerate Vivendi.

Reuters says that according to regulatory filings Vincent Bolloré has spent more than €1.5 billion to buy shares in 19 separate transactions in order to boost his shareholding from 20.5 per cent to the 24+ per cent now in place.

French investor rules grant double voting rights to established shareholders, meaning that Bolloré now has effective control at any meeting of shareholders. However, he has yet to pass the 30 per cent threshold which would require him to make a full bid for the remaining shares.

Vivendi owns Canal+, and is the parent of Universal Music Group.

Bolloré on April 19th unexpectedly stepped down from his role as Chairman of Vivendi, and appointed his son Yannick to replace him. A week later, news emerged that Bolloré Snr was being investigated into allegations of corruption in West Africa.

Other posts by :

1. Safran Space links laser direct to satellite
2. SpaceX fearful of AST SpaceMobile’s potential?
3. Equatys wants 2,800 new satellites
4. FCC eyes freeing up Weird Space Stuff spectrum
5. SES happy with releasing 160MHz of spectrum for 5G
6. Inmarsat “likely to win appeal” over Ligado/AST action
7. FCC seeks fair play over foreign satellite access
8. Bank raises RocketLab target price
9. Paramount throws kitchen sink

Categories: Articles, Business, M&A, People