Bidders are now lining up to make offers on Vivendi Universal’s entertainment assets, even though the group has so far maintained that they are not for sale.
According to US press reports this week, Vivendi is being approached by at least for suitors for its US entertainment assets, which include Universal Pictures, USA Cable, Studios USA and USA Films; in Europe Vivendi owns Canal+ and Studio Canal, which are also part of the entertainment division.
A Wall Street Journal article has named Liberty Media, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, NBC and oil baron Marvin Davis as being in the queue to bid for the portfolio. For its part, Vivendi has yet to outline a strategy for the businesses and most recently indicated that they are not for sale, after receiving a €15 billion offer from Davis in November last year (see Vivendi Receives €15bn Offer For Ents Businesses).
However, it is thought that Vivendi chief, Jean-René Fourtou, might seriously consider an offer in the region of €25 billion. A decent price for the entertainment assets could help Vivendi to clear the debt that it is gradually trying to shift with disposals (see Vivendi Revenues Dip 2%, Disposals Ease Debt).
