Eyeing Vivendi's assets.(Vivendi Universal S.A. will likely divest U.S. entertainment assets)

Broadcasting & Cable, March, 2003 by McClellan, Steve

It was a financial performance that only an AOL Time Warner shareholder could fully appreciate: In 2002, Vivendi Universal lost $25.6 billion, the biggest loss ever for a company based in France. The company took a $20 billion write-down on the value of its assets, due largely to the misguided merger with Seagram two years ago.

Most of it was applied to the U.S.-based Vivendi Universal Entertainment (VUE) properties, acquired in the Seagram transaction. "It would be a euphemism to say it was a difficult year," Vivendi CEO Jean-Rene Foutou deadpanned last week. That would be an understatement all right. It's almost assured that the company's U.S. entertainment assets will be sold off this year or next. What the company is struggling to determine...

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