Vivendi's Paris Offices Raided -- WSJ
06 October 2017 - 6:02PM
Dow Jones News
By Nick Kostov
This article is being republished as part of our daily
reproduction of WSJ.com articles that also appeared in the U.S.
print edition of The Wall Street Journal (October 6, 2017).
PARIS -- Police raided the Paris headquarters of Vivendi SA, the
French media company controlled by business tycoon Vincent Bolloré,
in connection with an investigation into alleged market abuse by
the French firm when it bought a stake in Italy's Mediaset SpA last
year.
The raid, confirmed by a Vivendi spokesman on Thursday, is the
latest development in a long-running wrangle that has pitted Mr.
Bolloré against the family of former Italian Prime Minister Silvio
Berlusconi whose holding company Fininvest owns 41% of
Mediaset.
Milan prosecutors are investigating Vivendi after it accumulated
Mediaset shares on the open market last December, eventually
spending EUR1.26 billion for an almost 30% stake. Fininvest has
accused Vivendi of first undermining investor confidence in
Mediaset before then buying up its stock on the cheap.
Vivendi's spokesman declined to comment about the nature of the
documents that were seized. Vivendi "acquired its stake in Mediaset
totally legally and transparently and remains absolutely confident
in the conclusion of this disagreement," the company said. Mediaset
declined to comment.
The high-stakes corporate standoff has pitted two of Europe's
biggest and best-known media players against each other. Some
analysts say the outcome could go some way to determining the
future of both companies.
Mr. Bolloré, Vivendi's chairman and its largest shareholder, is
trying to refashion the unwieldy conglomerate into a more focused
media company -- pay-TV, videogames, and music -- with a large
presence in southern Europe.
Mediaset remains a giant of Italian TV, but is struggling for
ways to stay ahead of local and international competitors as
internet-streaming services eat away at incumbent broadcasters'
audiences and advertising revenues.
Vivendi and Mediaset weren't always at loggerheads. In April
last year, Vivendi agreed to buy a small stake in Mediaset and
acquire its premium pay-TV unit in return for Mediaset taking a
small stake in Vivendi. Shortly afterward, the two sides fell out
publicly over the performance of the Mediaset business, with
Vivendi pulling out of the deal, a decision which sent Mediaset's
share price tumbling.
Then, in December, Mr. Bolloré disclosed that Vivendi had after
all acquired a 3% stake in Mediaset, a prelude to building up a
large shareholding in the company.
Mediaset accused Vivendi of attempting a hostile takeover, and
lodged a criminal complaint in Milan against the French company for
market manipulation. Vivendi described the lawsuit as "unfounded
and abusive".
Despite the criminal complaint, people familiar with the matter
have repeatedly said that both sides still want a friendly
deal.
"There are many reasons why it's a win-win situation for both
companies to resolve this conflict," Vivendi Chief Executive Arnaud
de Puyfontaine told The Wall Street Journal earlier this year.
Write to Nick Kostov at Nick.Kostov@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
October 06, 2017 02:47 ET (06:47 GMT)
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