Vivendi unit buys island to create media campus

Boulogne-Billancourt mayor Pierre-Christophe Baguet & Vivendi chairman Vincent Bolloré

French media giant Vivendi’s Boulogne-Studios subsidiary has struck a deal with SPL Val de Seine, acting for the municipal authorities of Boulogne-Billancourt in the western suburbs of Paris, to acquire the Île Seguin, the former site of a Renault factory, to build a 150,000 square-metre campus that will ultimately house multiple media and content enterprises, as well as a large sports facility.

The campus will include a 10,000 square-metre sports facility including a football pitch, swimming pool and multi-sports arena that can accommodate 3,000 spectators. The island will also have a 12,000 square-metre public garden open to the public.

Boulogne-Studios has operated in Boulougne-Billancourt since 1940, producing over 300 feature films from its studio on the site.

According to the joint communiqué by Vivendi and Boulogne-Billancourt, the facility will house multiple media and content companies, including digital companies, in five to seven years’ time.