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Universal parent company confirms commitment to content business
By Chris Cooke | Published on Wednesday 1 May 2013
The bosses of Universal Music parent company Vivendi have confirmed at a shareholders meeting that the plan is to fully focus the company’s efforts onto content and entertainment in the long term, which will mean a withdrawal from the telecommunications sector.
It’s been no secret for a while now that Paris-headquartered Vivendi’s financial problems have been the result of underperformance within its mainly French-based tel co business, and there has been talk of spinning off that side of the operation for some time.
At a shareholder meeting yesterday, board chairman Jean-Rene Fourtou told investors that that was definitely now the plan, though the company was in no mad hurry to lose its telecommunications interests, and urged patience from shareholders to let management secure them the best deal from any offloading that may occur.
It is thought the group’s Moroccan tel co firm Maroc Telecom could be sold later this year, though the offloading of its French SFR phone firm was now more likely to occur via a flotation, which would be instigated once the company’s fortunes had turned a little. It’s hoped recent investment in the company’s 4G infrastructure might help improve financial performance.
In addition to the Universal Music Group, Vivendi’s content interests include French TV firm Canal+ and a 61% stake in games giant Activision Blizzard.
