FRANCE

BCOM HONOURS SEMESTER 6

VIVENDI
Vivendi SA (formerly known as Vivendi Universal) is a French multinational mass media and telecommunication company . Headquarters in Paris, France. The company has activities in music, television and film, publishing, telecommunications , and the Internet. It primarily focuses digital entertainment and telecommunications. It owns French TV channel and movie producer Canal+ Group, as well as music world leader Universal Music Group. Vivendi is also active in telecommunications, owning mobile companies SFR (France) and GVT (Brazil) and controlling Maroc Telecom.

On December 14, 1853, a water company named Compagnie Gnrale des Eaux (CGE) was created by an imperial decree of Napoleon III. In 1854, CGE obtained a concession in order to supply water to the public in Lyon, serving in that capacity for over a hundred years.

For more than a century, CGE remained largely focused on the water sector. However, following the appointment of Guy Dejouany as CEO in 1976, CGE extended its activities into other sectors with a series of takeovers.

Beginning in 1980, CGE began diversifying its operations from water into waste management, energy, transport services, and construction and property.

In 1983, CGE helped to found Canal+, the first Pay-TV channel in France. In the 1990s, they began expanding into telecommunications and mass media, especially after Jean-Marie Messier succeeded Guy Dejouany on June 27, 1996. Vivendi Universal Publishing is the third largest concern in the global publishing market and holds the number two position in the educational publishing segment of the industry.
In 1996, Dejouany retired, leaving Jean-Marie Messier to take over the helm. The 39-year-old executive quickly began a hard core restructuring effort with a focus on its environmental and communication-related businesses and began selling off over $25 billion in holdings As part of Messier's grand scheme, he implemented a strategy on which the company was focused on gaining world leadership in the environmental services industry, as well as in both the media and communications industries.

In 1998, Compagnie Gnrale des Eaux changed its name to Vivendi, and sold off its property and construction divisions the following year to what would become Vinci. Vivendi went on to acquire stakes in or merge with Marco Telecom, Havas, Cendant Software, Anaya, and NetHold, a large Continental European pay-TV operator.

In June 1999, Vivendi merged with Path, the exchange ratio for the merger fixed at three Vivendi shares for every two Path shares. The Wall Street Journal estimated the value of the deal at US$2.59 billion.

In July 2000, Vivendi spun off its water and waste companiesonce its core businessalong with interests in other public service sectors such as transport into Vivendi Environment. Vivendi Universal Entertainment was created in December 2000 with the merger of the Vivendi media empire with Canal+ television networks and the acquisition of Universal Studios from Canadian company Seagram.

Vivendi Universal acquired MP3.com and a leading American publisher, Houghton Mifflin in 2001

Vivendi Universal disclosed a corporate loss of 23.3 billion in its 2002 annual report. It responded with financial reshuffling, trying to shore up media holdings while selling off shares in its spin-off companies. Amid intense media scrutiny, its chairman and CEO, Jean-Marie Messier ,was subsequently replaced by Jean-Ren Fourtou. Messier was found guilty of embezzlement in 2011, but not before he was paid over US$20 million as part of his severance package. The company reduced its stake in Vivendi Environnement to 40% and sold its stake in Vinci Construction. The company then began reorganizing to stave off bankruptcy, announcing a strategy to sell nonstrategic assets. .

Vivendi sold its stake in Vizzavi to Vodafone, with the exception of Vizzavi France. It also sold 20.4% of Vivendi Environments' capital to a group of investors, and its stake in North American satellite operator EchoStar Communications Corporation In July 2002,. APPAC (a minority shareholders association) filed a suit against VU accusing the company of presenting 'untruthful and fraudulent information' about the financial status of the company.

In 2003, Vivendi Universal sold Canal+ Technologies to Thomson , Tele+ to News Corporation and Telecom Italia. It also sold its 26.3% interest inXfera. On December 1, Vivendi Universal closed a deal to sell MP3.com to CNET. Despite predictions that it would be unable to raise the cash needed, VU bought out one of the two minority shareholders in Cegetel, taking its holding to 60 percent, with Vodafone holding the remaining 40 percent.

Huge debt level. Bad management specially cash management. Excessive and disorganized communication Doubts on firms accounts. Information given to public was insufficient. Too many diversified asset, too many industries.

Pessimism of financial analyst.

Mr. Messier's brash leadership style and his championing of an American-style attitude to business did not go down well with some of the more traditional elements in France's business community.
He was perceived as being arrogant to the point of damaging the company and was accused of treating the company as a personal fiefdom. And Mr. Messier's sacking of Canal Plus' popular chief, Pierre Lescure, increased public dislike of him.

Vivendi announced having entered a strategic review of its assets in 2012 and decided to re maximize its telecoms assets. As a result, it sold the majority of its interest in Activision Blizzard in October 2013, keeping a 12% stake in the games company. Vivendi also confirmed in November 2013 its intention to launch a demerger plan which would result in Vivendi becoming an international media group centered around Canal+, Universal Music Group and GVT, while SFR would be listed separately on the stock market.