Bollorés exchange control of Vivendi

Yannick Bolloré will take over as the new chairman of French media company Vivendi after his father, Vincent Bolloré, announced he would step down from the position.

Vivendi’s supervisory board unanimously approved the change following a shareholders’ meeting held in Paris yesterday (Thursday).

Vincent Bolloré (pictured) will remain on the Vivendi board and had earlier stepped down as chairman of French pay-television broadcaster Canal Plus, which Vivendi operates and is a major sports broadcaster in the country.

Yannick Bolloré is chairman and chief executive of advertising giant Havas Group. In July, Vivendi completed its €2.36bn ($2.94bn) takeover of Havas. Vivendi acquired the 59.2 per cent stake in Havas held by the Bolloré Group.