Lagardere May Resume Canal+ France IPO In June Or Early Fall

French conglomerate Lagardere SCA (MMB.FR) could resume the initial public offering of its stake in pay-TV unit Canal Plus France in June or the early fall, Chief Financial Officer Dominique D'Hinnin said Tuesday.

In March Lagardere postponed the initial public offering, or IPO, of its 20% stake in Canal Plus France--the rest of which is owned by international media firm Vivendi SA (VIV.FR)--due to volatile market conditions following the earthquake in Japan.

Lagardere continues to observe the IPO market and notably the IPO of Swiss commodities giant Glencore International AG in order to make a decision on its own IPO process, D'Hinnin said in a conference call on first-quarter revenue.

"The market has recovered quite nicely since [March] but the IPO market is still difficult," D'Hinnin said.

The IPO of Canal Plus could resume either before or after the summer break, said D'Hinnin. "If you ask me to take a guess, I think early fall is more likely," he added.

-By Ruth Bender, Dow Jones Newswires; [phone]; [e-mail]