London – The chairman of French media and telecom conglomerate Vivendi and one of the company's other powerful board members are locked into a showdown over who should be the next CEO, a source confirmed Monday. Jean-Francois Dubos last year became CEO on a temporary basis after previous head Jean-Bernard Levy left amid disagreements over future strategy. Dubos was charged with developing a strategy for Vivendi and rejig its business portfolio in line with it. The company has since refocused on its content assets and decided to divest its majority stake in video game maker Activision Blizzard and
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- 9/9/2013
- by Georg Szalai
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Vivendi is looking to sell its 61 percent stake in video game maker Activision Blizzard, but chairman Jean-Rene Fourtou has expressed his commitment to Universal Music Group's strategy, Bloomberg News reported. Last week, long-time Vivendi CEO Jean-Bernard Levy was pushed out as Fourtou and others on the board want to follow investor calls for divestitures by the company, which also owns French pay TV provider Canal+ and telecom assets in France, Morocco and Brazil, or even a possible break-up. Should no buyer be found for the Activision stake, which is worth around $8.1 billion, Vivendi
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- 7/2/2012
- by Georg Szalai
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
European media analysts on Friday cheered the departure of long-time Vivendi CEO Jean-Bernard Levy. While they lauded him for his management of the entertainment and telecom conglomerate, they said his departure, confirmed by the company late Thursday, could be a step towards a sale or spin-off of assets, which many of them have long hoped for. Analysts have said that Vivendi's conglomerate structure has held back its stock price as the value of individual businesses can be less visible in such a structure. Vivendi's stock, which recently hit nine-year lows, was up 1.4 percent at
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- 6/29/2012
- by Georg Szalai
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Jean-Bernard Levy, the chief executive officer of Vivendi, will step down from the French media conglomerate, with an announcement possibly coming from Vivendi on Thursday, the Wall Street Journal reports. Levy, 57, has been with the company for a decade. Also read: Vivendi Nabs Emi for $1.9B, Getting Rights to the Beatles, Snoop Dogg The departure comes on the heels of a disagreement over strategy with the company's board of directors, a source told the Journal. Vivendi's board has been pushing for a change in how the company handles its assets, which include...
- 6/28/2012
- by Tim Kenneally
- The Wrap
Jean-Bernard Levy joined Vivendi in 2002 and became chief executive in 2005. Since then, he’s run a conglomerate that owns the world’s biggest music company in Universal Music Group, European TV giant Canal Plus, and 61% of video game publisher Activision Blizzard. Via Umg, Vivendi is also in the process of acquiring Emi’s recorded music division for $1.9B. Last year, Levy oversaw the selloff of Vivendi’s 20% stake in NBCUniversal. There have been calls for Levy to address low valuation at the Paris-based media giant, according to Bloomberg, with its stock price down 18% this year and its bond rating in peril. It’s also understood that increasing disagreements over strategy are behind his expected departure. Levy has not been keen to spin-off or sell assets while supervisory board president, Jean-René Fourtou, has recently pondered whether the group’s activities should be split into two or three parts, French business daily La Tribune notes.
- 6/28/2012
- by NANCY TARTAGLIONE, International Editor
- Deadline TV
London - Vivendi shares slipped in European trading Tuesday after the entertainment and telecom conglomerate lost a stage in a court case to John Malone's Liberty Media. Analysts said most investors likely hadn't prepared for a legal payment that could be a drag on the company's stock market value. The company, led by CEO Jean-Bernard Levy, was late on Monday ordered to pay $956 million in a legal showdown over Vivendi's 2001 acquisition of Liberty's stake in Barry Diller's USA Networks. The suit was filed in 2003 and argued that Vivendi, then led by Jean-Marie Messier, had misled Liberty
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- 6/26/2012
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
London - Entertainment and telecom conglomerate Vivendi on Wednesday got some support from Jefferies & Co. analyst Will Smith who upgraded his rating on its shares from "hold" to "buy." He highlighted that the stock has been hitting nine-year lows, cited catalysts and said he now has a €15 ($23.31) target price on the stock. Smith also chimed in on a recurring debate about the company's asset portfolio, saying he would rather see it sell its Moroccan telecom than video game maker Activision Blizzard. Vivendi is led by CEO Jean-Bernard Levy. "With shares slumping to nine year
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- 6/13/2012
- by Georg Szalai
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Los Angeles — Emi Group Ltd., the iconic British music company that is home to The Beatles, Coldplay and Katy Perry, is being split and sold for $4.1 billion.
The deals will open Emi's buyers, Universal Music and Sony/Atv, to regulatory scrutiny as they increase their dominance of the music industry.
Universal Music Group said Friday that it will pay 1.2 billion pounds ($1.9 billion) for the recording division, joining Universal artists including Lady Gaga and Eminem with Emi superstars such as David Guetta and Lady Antebellum.
A consortium led by Sony/Atv announced a separate deal Friday to pay $2.2 billion for Emi's publishing division. That business is in charge of songwriting copyrights for such artists as Rihanna and Norah Jones.
Sony/Atv, a joint venture between Sony Corp. and the Michael Jackson estate, said it is a 38 percent partner in the consortium. Other parties include Mubadala Development Co., Jynwel Capital Ltd., the Blackstone Group and David Geffen.
The deals will open Emi's buyers, Universal Music and Sony/Atv, to regulatory scrutiny as they increase their dominance of the music industry.
Universal Music Group said Friday that it will pay 1.2 billion pounds ($1.9 billion) for the recording division, joining Universal artists including Lady Gaga and Eminem with Emi superstars such as David Guetta and Lady Antebellum.
A consortium led by Sony/Atv announced a separate deal Friday to pay $2.2 billion for Emi's publishing division. That business is in charge of songwriting copyrights for such artists as Rihanna and Norah Jones.
Sony/Atv, a joint venture between Sony Corp. and the Michael Jackson estate, said it is a 38 percent partner in the consortium. Other parties include Mubadala Development Co., Jynwel Capital Ltd., the Blackstone Group and David Geffen.
- 11/12/2011
- by AP
- Huffington Post
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