Diller thriller? Vivendi Universal.(What might Barry Diller be cooking up for Vivendi's American entertainment assets?)

Economist (US), The, November, 2002

One possible Hollywood ending for its American entertainment assets

ANOTHER week, another investigation into the past accounting practices of Vivendi Universal, the unravelling French media conglomerate. This time, it was the turn of the US attorney's office for the southern district of New York, which opened a "preliminary criminal investigation". It is co-ordinating its inquiry with the Securities and Exchange Commission's own "informal inquiry". And this comes just a week after the Paris public prosecutor's office began its own probe into accounting irregularities under Jean-Marie Messier, the group's ousted boss.

Amid the growing queue of investigators, and the company's muddled attempts to shed assets to hack back its euro19 billion ($19 billion)...

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