Hollywood film studio, Metro Goldwyn Mayer (MGM), is understood to have withdrawn its $11.5 billion offer for the US entertainment assets of Vivendi Universal, after the French group asked for a higher price for the business.
Vivendi is now thought to be asking for no less than $14 billion for the Vivendi Universal Entertainment (VUE) group of businesses, which include a music company, film studios, cable networks and theme parks.
Reports today quote MGM chief executive, Alex Yemenidjian, as saying that meeting Vivendi’s current price expectation would not be consistent with his company’s valuation of the assets. The group has therefore withdrawn from the bidding.
This leaves four remaining players in the auction: General Electric, which owns the NBC network; Liberty Media; a consortium fronted by former Universal chief Edgar Bronfman and US media giant Viacom. However, Viacom is thought to be interested only certain assets of the VUE portfolio, whereas Vivendi is keen to sell the whole group in one go (see Viacom May Bid For Vivendi Cable Assets).
