| ||
| ||
| ||
 |
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Vivendi discusses Hollywood sale
PARIS, France (CNN) -- The board of Vivendi Universal is meeting in Paris to discuss a multi-billion dollar sale of the French-based media giant's Hollywood assets. Tuesday's talks mark the final stages of more than three months of wrangling over the future of 90-year-old Universal Pictures, home to movies like "The Hulk,'' the USA Network cable television business, and Universal theme parks. Sources suggest the bidding is down to two parties. General Electric is proposing a non-cash merger of its NBC network with Vivendi's film and TV operation, while a rival bid by American media mogul Edgar Bronfman Jr., who is Vivendi's vice-chairman, is thought to be worth about $12 billion, including a joint venture in a U.S. cable TV unit. Both hope to be chosen by Vivendi for exclusive negotiations. Liberty Media dropped out of the running on Monday. Vivendi's board is thought to favor the NBC option but shareholders may be happier to pocket cash from the Bronfman consortium. However, Vivendi could delay a decision until September, according to the Wall Street Journal Tuesday. "As a shareholder one might well want the money," Theresa Wise, media strategist at Accenture, told CNN. "The question is, does the management still have the appetite to stay in the media business a bit longer because that is what the NBC offer amounts to." She said the NBC deal could create long-term value. "It offers the chance to draw some media assets together. NBC lacks a Hollywood studio." Vivendi Chief Executive Jean-Rene Fourtou put the Universal business up for sale earlier this year to cut huge debts.
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
