The NY Times today reported on speculation that Vivendi's management is considering ending its partnership with Vodafone in Vivazzi. This is a potentially interesting development for those following Infospace's development because Vivazzi is Vodafone's own in-house wireless services company. Vivendi's role as the media company partner is, of course, to provide the content. (I wouldn't shed a tear to see Vivazzi terminated.)
Vivendi Takes More Lumps as Shares Fall
By JOHN TAGLIABUE
PARIS, April 30 — Nervous about a continuing swirl of negative news surrounding Vivendi Universal, investors pummeled the stock today, pushing it down 7 percent at one point, to a five-year low. The stock later recovered somewhat to close at 35.39 euros ($31.99) a share in Paris, off 2.8 percent.
It has lost more than two-fifths of its value this year, as investors have questioned the strategy of Vivendi's chief executive, Jean-Marie Messier.
Contributing to today's decline were three new sets of ominous headlines. A French news report drew attention to a notice in Vivendi's annual report, published at the end of March, that the company is committed to buying back almost 20 million of its own shares at a cost that could reach 700 million euros.
There is also concern that Mr. Messier is thinking about pulling Vivendi out of a money-losing wireless media joint venture with Vodafone, known as Vizzavi. A person close to Vivendi's board said Monday that at their meeting last Wednesday, the company's directors had openly discussed that possibility, without reaching a decision. And late on Monday, Vivendi said it would take a one-time noncash charge of 17 billion euros ($15.37 billion) in the first quarter.
The reports appeared to compound the uncertainty spread in recent days by Vivendi's announcement that it would ask a French court to annul the results of voting at its annual meeting last week because of suspected tampering with a wireless electronic voting system.
Vivendi, a media, communications and utility conglomerate, has not yet filed the complaint, but one institutional shareholder, Société Générale, said today that it would back the move, and Vivendi officials said the company was awaiting support from other large shareholders.
Vivendi officials denied that the company had tried to slip the buyback plan past investors. And both Vivendi and Vodafone appeared today to back away from a possible exit from Vizzavi. A Vivendi official called reports on Vizzavi "unfounded," and a Vodafone spokeswoman, Melissa Stimpson, said, "I don't think we've been told of any intention to end the venture." |
