Vivendi Universal sale updates

[jewels]

It gets more interesting every day!

[BST]

From my not so shiny crystal ball: hehehe

My prediction for the survivors would be

Liberty and Bronfman -- those are pretty much givens. The fun would be the third pick which I think would be -- NBC.

If they whittle down to four, add in MGM.

Viacom and Marvin Davis will be probably be out of the running.


Anyone else have any predictions??

[peter noble]

I wouldn't count out NBC, their cards will probably be played when their guy meets the Vivendi guy in Europe.

Go NBC!

Peter

[peter noble]

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. said Monday it agreed to sell its minority stakes in a group of cable networks for $500 million to improve its financial position as it competes to buy the U.S. entertainment assets of Vivendi Universal.

MGM said it will sell its 20 percent stake in networks American Movie Classics, the Independent Film Channel, and WE: Women's Entertainment to Cablevision Systems Corp.'s Rainbow Media unit, which owns the remaining 80 percent of the networks.

The transaction could ultimately strengthen the position of both MGM and Cablevision as they compete for the Vivendi assets. MGM would get cash for its war chest to buy Vivendi (V: up $0.17 to $18.57, Research, Estimates). Cablevision, for its part, would own a 100 percent stake in three cable channels, which it would contribute to the bid by Vivendi Vice Chairman Edgar Bronfman Jr.

MGM said cable operator Cablevision would pay $250 million cash at closing, which is expected in the third quarter, and $250 million five months later. The Los Angeles-based film studio also said it will report a $93 million loss in the second quarter, which ends Monday.

Cablevision (CVC: up $0.14 to $21.25, Research, Estimates), based in Bethpage, N.Y., said in a separate statement that the second $250 million payment could be either cash or Class A common shares.

MGM said investors never appreciated the true value of the Los Angeles-based film studio owning the stations.

"We are turning an asset for which the financial community gave us little credit into over $2 per share in cash," MGM Chief Executive Alex Yemenidjian said in a statement.

After the second payment is made, MGM would have about $1.2 billion of cash on its books and $1.15 billion of debt.

[peter noble]

Vivendi Drops Oilman from Asset Auction

By Tim Hepher and Merissa Marr

PARIS (Reuters) - Vivendi Universal on Tuesday axed oil tycoon Marvin Davis from a list of suitors for its U.S. entertainment empire, paving the way for talks with five media bidders still in the race, sources familiar with the talks said.

Vivendi's decision to drop the oil billionaire and former 20th Century Fox baron from its auction of Universal Studios and other assets creates an open fight between some of America's top media moguls including Liberty cable king John Malone.

In a statement after Paris board talks, Vivendi did not name those going through to the second round of an auction expected to raise at least $10 billion to help cut debt.

But the French-American firm said it had drawn up a list of "selected bidders" to take part in "in-depth negotiations." And sources said five bidding groups would be involved in the talks which Vivendi hopes to wrap up between end-July and September.

The sources, who are familiar with the auction process, said the five remaining contenders were: Malone's Liberty Media, General Electric's TV broadcasting network NBC, Metro-Goldwyn Mayer, CBS owner Viacom and Edgar Bronfman Jr., who is seeking to buy back the business.

Spokespeople for Vivendi, Bronfman, Viacom, NBC and Davis declined comment. Liberty and MGM were not available to comment.

Looking to slash debts of $14 billion and restore its junk-rated credit status, Vivendi is selling its U.S. unit Vivendi Universal Entertainment (VUE), which combines the Hollywood name behind "The Hulk" with cable TV and theme parks.

But the auction process was complicated when three bidders including Davis, according to sources familiar with the auction, expressed interest in Vivendi's separate Universal Music arm which analysts say may be worth at least another $5 billion.

"Davis is out unless they can come back with a substantially better offer," one source said. This source said the sticking point appeared to be Universal Music, the world's largest music firm which Davis wants to buy but which Vivendi prefers to keep.

Because of his age and the fact that most of his public appearances in and around Los Angeles have been for various charitable events and not business deals, many Vivendi watchers had not considered 77-year-old Davis a serious contestant.

But some believe Davis, who sold Fox film studios to Rupert Murdoch in 1985, could try to team up with another bidder and do not exclude him trying to return with a higher bid of his own.

Another source involved in the bidding said Vivendi was now steering candidates away from the music arm, part of a depressed industry which it believes is poised for recovery. Lining up bids without music would help Vivendi make better comparisons.

[peter noble]

Vivendi Ups the Ante
As the auction for the French conglomerate's entertainment assets enters round two, the only thing clear is that bids will go higher
It has become one of the longest, weirdest corporate auctions in recent memory. For months, Paris-based Vivendi Universal Entertainment (VUE ), the entertainment arm of the French water conglomerate, has teased potential buyers, giving signals that it is looking to sell its studio, theme parks, and music company. But on July 1, after Vivendi's board met to consider six offers for the entertainment assets, bidders had little -- if any -- idea where they stood.

One of the six suitors, a group headed by Los Angeles billionaire Marvin Davis, was eliminated from the bidding. But the rules abruptly changed for the other five: Vivendi signaled that it intends to hang on to the music company, and it asked the remaining five bidders to come back with higher -- and in some cases, newly structured -- offers.
Sources say the bidders still in the auction are movie studio MGM (MGM ), General Electric's (GE ) NBC studio, media companies Viacom (VIA ) and Liberty Media (L ), and a consortium put together by former Seagram CEO Edgar Bronfman Jr., who sold the assets to Vivendi three years ago.

NEW RULES._ Each of the surviving groups will be asked to bid after getting additional information, say insiders. The price? One suitor says it's around $11.5 billion. But Vivendi isn't saying, allowing only that "a very significant competition has arisen for the assets," and that it now intends to pursue "in-depth negotiations." The highest bid is believed to be MGM's $11.2 billion offer for VUE, the holding company that contains the studio, theme parks, and cable operations like USA Network and Sci-Fi Channel.

Vivendi's new ground rules will likely set off a scramble that could alter, and perhaps undo, some of the bids. The offers by Bronfman and Liberty Media, cable dealmaker John Malone's media operation, are said to have included the music unit and will need to be restructured. NBC may also have to rejigger its offer. GE proposed a merger of assets in which it would combine Vivendi's assets with its NBC network, Bravo cable channel, and Spanish TV network Telemundo to create a media company that NBC would operate and be majority owner of.

As for Viacom, it offered only to buy the cable channels, although it left open the possibility of acquiring the studio as well. Sources say Viacom will likely not bid for the entire group of assets on its own but may seek partners to help it buy VUE.

MGM IN THE LEAD?_ While Vivendi didn't return phone calls seeking comment, insiders say the French company decided against selling the music business, which bidders had been valued at around $5 billion, because Vivendi believed it could get more once concerns about digital piracy are eased. And it's still contemplating an initial public offering for VUE, Vivendi said in a briefly worded press release following the board meeting.

Complicating the process is the way its various agreements are structured. Viviendi needs to sell off the entertainment unit in its entirety to avoid hefty payments to Bronfman's family, which is still a large shareholder, or to media mogul Barry Diller, whose InterActiveCorp owns a $5.4 billion stake in VUE.

At first blush, the Vivendi board's decision seems to favor MGM's $11.2 bid, which is said to be an all-cash offer. A group that includes MGM majority shareholder Kirk Kerkorian, Morgan Stanley (MWD ), and Providence Equity Partners would contribute $2 billion. The other $9.2 billion would be arranged by BankAmerica (BAC ) and Morgan Stanley, which provided "highly confident" letters as part of MGM'S submission (see BW Online, 6/27/03, "MGM: Dark Horse in the Vivendi Derby").

At Vivendi's discretion, MGM would give Vivendi a 20% stake in the newly created company instead of $2 billion cash, say those with knowledge of the deal. MGM sources declined to comment on specifics.

ON THE REBOUND._ The rest of the bidders are now in the position of examining how much they really want VUE, which has a library of some 1,500 films, including recent hot flicks like Bruce Almighty and 2 Fast 2 Furious, a theme park in Los Angeles, and a 50% stake in the Universal Studios theme park in Orlando, Fla. Bronfman, who bought what is now VUE in 1996, hopes to get back the assets he sold to Vivendi to rebuild them and recover some of the money his family lost when debt-hobbled Vivendi cratered last year. Though a spokesman, Bronfman says he definitely intends to bid again.

VUE, however, is still Malone's to lose. His Liberty Media has been hungering for a large acquisition as it continues to remake itself from a collection of assets into an operating company that would appeal to investors. VUE certainly fits the bill. With more than $5 billion in cash on Liberty's balance sheet, he could easily finance the $11.5 billion deal, if he wanted. Still, Malone isn't fond of bidding wars. A Liberty spokesman declined to comment.

NBC and Viacom are the puzzlers. Neither would seem to have met the first criteria set by Vivendi: cash to help it pay down its steep debts. But both have cachet, and apparently Vivendi wants them around to keep the competition brisk and the other bidders interested. Then again, maybe Vivendi hopes one or the other will take a second look at the assets, love what they see, and lob in some bids that are more to the French company's liking, although that seems unlikely.

THE TWO OF US?_ Viacom has made it clear it doesn't want the Universal Studio or theme parks. CBS's parent bid a steep price for the cable channels, pegged by sources at around $3 billion, but that's probably not enough for Vivendi. The cable channels are the choice assets, the ones everyone wants. Vivendi apparently asked Viacom Chairman Sumner Redstone to reconsider its bid, but Redstone isn't likely to jump into a bidding war, say those around him. "Maybe they'll stick around to see what develops, or until Vivendi kicks them out," says one well-placed source.

NBC hopes to convince Vivendi that a combination of their assets would make a strong enough company for the French to forgo cash and bet that they can sell stock down the road. GE Chairman Jeffrey Immelt is expected to meet next week with Vivendi executives to promote his outfit's bid and with the NBC management team headed by longtime network Chairman Bob Wright. But the prospect of no cash up-front isn't expected to appeal to Vivendi.

Surprises could still appear. One rumor making the rounds is that Diller will give his $2 billion in preferred shares to one of the contenders, perhaps Bronfman or Malone, to fortify their bids. Diller has said for weeks he isn't pursuing a bid but would consider anything that would enhance value for his shareholders. And the Marvin Davis group could return to the bidding, say those close to the auction. Davis' team, headed by former Universal President Brian Mulligan, is said to be huddling with a view to a new -- and presumably higher -- offer.

Perhaps that's what all this maneuvering is really about: tweaking the price for assets that recently seemed to have become more popular. Vivendi shareholders can only hope that's what's going on. Vivendi executives have said they want to complete a deal by late July. Given the long and tortuous path this auction has already taken, a resolution could end up on many a mogul's Christmas list.

[BST]

Oh, what tangled webs we weave -- Liberty owns 42% of QVC and buys the remaining 58% from Comcast. Check the last 1/2 of the article for how tangled things could get.

http://www.thestreet.com/_excite/tec...0&alias=/ht/nw

Anybody got a scorecard???

BST

[peter noble]

LONDON (Reuters) - U.S. media mogul Barry Diller has been discussing a possible joint bid with Viacom Inc. chairman Sumner Redstone for Vivendi Universal's show business empire, sources close to the auction said on Tuesday.

Diller, a former Vivendi executive who owns a stake in the entertainment assets, is eyeing the multibillion-dollar auction of the film, TV and theme park business, and has been talking to Viacom chief Redstone about a possible deal, the sources said.

A Diller/Redstone duo would be an ironic twist to a Hollywood saga that saw the two moguls go head-to-head for Paramount studios in the 1990s -- a battle Redstone's Viacom eventually won but only after raising its bid by $2 billion.

In a joint bid for the Vivendi assets, the octogenarian Redstone would keep the cable television business and carve out Universal Studios for Diller, giving him ownership of a Hollywood studio he has long desired, the sources said.

Under a standstill agreement set in place when Diller sold his USA Networks business to Paris-based Vivendi two years ago, Diller is not formally allowed to bid in the auction.

But Vivendi, the world's second biggest media group, is keen to secure a deal to cut debt -- and might waive that clause if Diller teams up with another bidder in the auction which has attracted some of Hollywood's biggest names, one source said.

Viacom declined to comment. A spokesman for Diller's InterActiveCorp also declined to comment.

Vivendi kicked off the auction of Vivendi Universal Entertainment (VUE) last month to slash debts that almost brought the 148-year-old former utility to its knees last year.

Five bidders made the cut into the second round of the auction earlier this month -- Viacom, Liberty Media Corp., Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc., General Electric Co.'s NBC and Edgar Bronfman Jr.

Vivendi hopes to pick a winner in September, according to sources familiar with the auction. One source said on Tuesday Vivendi may keep all five bidders in the running until the end, rather than drawing up another short-list as widely expected.

FAVORITE TO WIN?

Viacom has so far indicated it is only interested in Vivendi's cable television assets Sci Fi and USA, and possibly the television production business, other sources close to the matter have said.

However, the New York Post reported on Tuesday that Viacom could purchase all of VUE and then spin off the movie studio and theme parks into a private company controlled by Diller.

Such a deal would avoid a tax liability incurred from breaking up the entertainment business, the newspaper said.

One of the sources on Tuesday suggested Diller may seek talks with other bidders too. InterActiveCorp, which Diller heads, owns just over 5 percent of VUE and $2.0 billion in preferred stock. Diller himself owns a stake of around 1.5 percent of VUE.

Cash-rich Liberty Media, headed by cable king John Malone, has been seen as an early favorite in the auction.

Other sources close to the auction said on Tuesday that Liberty's bid was one of the most financially solid. But the U.S. company has already been rebuffed in a bid to open exclusive talks with Vivendi.

MGM posted one of the highest bids. People familiar with the situation said on Monday the Los Angeles-based film studio had told Vivendi it would raise its bid to $11.5 billion, but only if it got more access to financial data.

In a letter to Vivendi Chief Operating Officer Jean-Bernard Levy, MGM threatened to walk away from the auction unless it received more information by July 21, those sources said.

This could be real bad news, remember Diller hired Hammer et al.

[captmiloman]

Right now, NBC is the only TV network not afilliated with a motion picture studio, so it would make sense for them to take over Universal/USA/Sci-Fi. Battlestar Galactica on NBC. It could happen.

[peter noble]

Business - FT.com

Vivendi talks as bidders get frustrated

By Peter Thal Larsen in New York and Tim Burt in London

Jean-René Fourtou (picture), chief executive of Vivendi Universal, is planning to meet his advisers in New York on Thursday to discuss the next step in the auction of the French group's US entertainment assets.

The meeting comes as some of the five remaining bidders for the assets becoming frustrated at what they perceive to be the slow progress of the auction.

It is almost a month since the bidders delivered their initial bids for Vivendi Universal Entertainment, the arm that houses its Hollywood Studio, cable channels, television production company and the theme parks.

So far, however, Vivendi has eliminated just one bidder - a consortium led by oil tycoon Marvin Davis - and has yet to set a deadline for the next round of bids.

This week Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, the Hollywood studio group that has submitted a mostly cash bid for VUE, wrote to Vivendi threatening to withdraw its $11.5bn bid if the French group did not provide more detailed financial data about the businesses by early next week.

Vivendi has reacted coolly to the demand, people familiar with the situation said. However, Jean-Bernard Levy, Vivendi's chief operating officer, is understood to have discussed the demand with Alex Yemenidjian, MGM's chief executive, and participants in the auction expect they will be given more information next week.

MGM fears being denied full access to data, on the grounds that Universal Studios - VUE's movie arm - does not want to disclose sensitive information on future budgets and releases to a competitor.

Some bidders fear a repeat of the sale of Vivendi's publishing unit, which was completed last year. After initially telling bidders they had to make offers for the whole business, Vivendi decided to sell the US and French operations separately.

One person involved in the VUE talks accused Vivendi of "slow-tracking" the process in order to explore in more detail a partnership with NBC, the broadcasting arm of General Electric.

A senior manager at VUE added: "NBC is the dark horse here. The French would love to sell to them but they need to be convinced about the structure."

NBC is understood to be proposing an equity-sharing partnership, combining its network and cable channels with VUE and offering Vivendi the option of an IPO or trade sale at a later date.

The French group expects to receive detailed offers by the end of August, with completion possibly not before the fourth quarter.

[peter noble]

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Vivendi Universal has provided a trove of new financial information about its U.S. entertainment assets to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. to keep the Hollywood studio in the hunt to buy them, a person familiar with the situation said on Monday.

MGM previously threatened to abandon the auction on Monday unless it received more details about Vivendi Universal Entertainment's film and television studio business, the Sci Fi and USA cable networks and its theme parks.

"There is a constructive ongoing dialogue" between Vivendi and MGM, said the person, who requested anonymity.

Some of the other bidders, including a group led by Vivendi Vice Chairman Edgar Bronfman Jr., also have been reviewing new information as they contemplate whether to increase their initial bids, as Vivendi has requested, other people said.

The suitors have not been given any specific deadline by which to submit new offers, these people added.

MGM is thought by some watching the auction to be the front-runner even though its sweetened $11.5 billion offer last week was quickly rejected.

Speculation from people close to the auction was that Vivendi was displeased that MGM's new bid was reported in the press, that it was submitted with an ultimatum and that it appeared to be a final offer meant to preempt other bids.

Liberty Media Corp. also had been seen as a strong contender, but new questions about its desire arose after it agreed to spend $7.9 billion to buy the 57 percent of home shopping network QVC it didn't already own.

Media conglomerate Viacom Inc. has had new talks with Vivendi about its expressed interest in the cable networks, one person said.

A proposal from U.S. network NBC to create a new company by merging with VUE, as Vivendi's U.S. entertainment assets are known, remains on the table and continues to be discussed, said another person familiar with the situation. The network, owned by conglomerate General Electric Co., offered no cash to debt-laden Vivendi, however.

It remained unclear whether oilman Marvin Davis, the first to submit an offer for the assets, would remain in the auction. Vivendi told Davis he would have to raise his bid to move on with the other five bidders, people said.

Spokespeople for Vivendi, MGM, NBC, Liberty, Viacom, Bronfman and Davis all declined to comment.

[BST]

Get a new scorecard, got a whole new ballgame.....

Now, Comcast appears to be interested in VUE. Check the link for the full story:

http://money.excite.com/jsp/nw/nwdt_...&date=20030724

(I really don't think they'll jump in alone but, I wouldn't be surprised to see them align with Liberty).

BST

Side note: This is FYI and nothing more, just an interesting piece of the puzzle, considering the Comcast interest in VUE. Part of AT&T Broadband, which was purchased by Comcast last year, was the old TCI Cable company. Before being sold to AT&T, TCI used to be owned by, guess who, John Malone, who just happens to own Liberty Media.

Confused? Welcome to the club!

[peter noble]

LONDON (Reuters) - Media giant Vivendi Universal is casting its net wider in the sale of its entertainment empire, indicating it is open to standalone bids for its U.S. television business, sources involved in the auction said on Friday.

Having previously insisted it would only consider bids for all its U.S. entertainment assets, Vivendi has told some contenders it will entertain bids for just the TV business after receiving offers billions of dollars short of what it wants, the sources said.

By prizing out the jewel in the crown -- the cable TV and production business -- the Paris-based media group could extract a better price, despite liabilities attached to breaking up the assets, which also include Hollywood's Universal Studios.

"Bids have not been as good as Vivendi wanted and it is exploring as many options as possible right now. The company has indicated it would be receptive to bids for just the television business if that is what bidders prefer," said one source.

Vivendi declined to comment.

Vivendi, the world's second-biggest media company, has reached the second round of an auction of its Universal film, television and theme park business but has told contenders it is unhappy with the bids so far at around $11 billion, sources familiar with the auction have said.

The group, which needs cash to cut debts that almost toppled the French-American company last year, is looking for more like $14 billion, sources close to the auction said. One source said it wanted as much as $8-9 billion for the television assets.

Vivendi has told bidders it could still opt to float the business and is exploring the possibility of hiring an executive to run the entertainment assets, the sources said.

One source close to Vivendi said the company's principal aim remained to sell all the assets in one block or float them.

Vivendi shares closed 0.63 percent down at 15.90 euros.

UNBUNDLING THE BUNDLE

The cash-flow-rich cable business -- which includes the USA and Sci Fi networks -- is seen as the most attractive and valuable of the Vivendi Universal Entertainment (VUE) assets.

Aware that the other Universal assets would be more difficult to shift, Vivendi has been attempting to sell the cable business along with the studio and theme parks in one go.

The auction has so far attracted a line-up including: cable group Liberty Media Corp.; Hollywood's Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer; media giant Viacom; General Electric's NBC; and a team led by Vivendi vice-chairman Edgar Bronfman Jr.

U.S. cable TV operator Comcast Corp. may also join the fray after expressing an interest late in the auction, a source familiar with the matter said on Thursday. However, some industry figures are skeptical it would come up with a bid.

Viacom has long said it is only interested in the cable TV and potentially the TV production business, but the sources involved in the auction said other bidders may also prefer to bid for just those assets.

"Vivendi has told bidders it is now minded not to sell all of VUE but just the cable television assets," said one source.

However, some were skeptical of Vivendi's intentions and speculate that it could be eliciting bids for the TV business to use as ammunition in negotiating bids for other deals.

A big hurdle in the sale is tax liabilities linked to any deal to split the assets. One source suggested that Vivendi may get around that liability by selling the assets to a contender in one block and then buying some of them back.

Alternatively, the premium from selling the television assets separately could more than compensate for any tax charge, which could run into billions of dollars.

This could be a disaster, the rights to various properties could become really confusing if things are sold of separately!

[Dawg]

Possible trouble for Vivendi-Universal:

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmp...a_vivendi_dc_1

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Trade Commission on Monday upheld charges that three subsidiaries of France's Vivendi Universal conspired to fix the price of a 1998 recording by The Three Tenors, the agency said.



The FTC's five commissioners voted unanimously to back an earlier ruling that Vivendi's PolyGram unit had improperly agreed with an AOL Time Warner Inc. subsidiary to halt discounting and advertising to boost sales of recordings based on the tenors' concert in Paris during the 1998 soccer World Cup.


The Three Tenors -- Jose Carreras, Placido Domingo and Luciano Pavarotti (news - web sites) -- have performed together every four years since 1990 at the site of the World Cup soccer finals for a combination live concert and recording session.


The FTC had charged that PolyGram agreed not to discount or advertise the 1990 Three Tenors album and video from Aug. 1, 1998, to Oct. 15, 1998. In return, Warner would not discount or advertise the 1994 Three Tenors album and video during this period.


As part of Monday's order, the FTC barred PolyGram from agreeing with competitors to fix the prices or restrict the advertising of products they have produced independently.


In an opinion ratified by all the commissioners, FTC chairman Timothy Muris wrote that the agreement was "antithetical to the fundamental policies of our antitrust laws and will not be countenanced."


Vivendi officials responded with a statement saying that they "strongly disagree with the decision of the FTC and we intend to vigorously pursue this matter through appeal."


Monday's vote upholds a ruling last year by a U.S. administrative law judge, who also concluded that the companies had engaged in anti-competitive tactics.


The FTC first filed the case in 2001. Agency officials accused Warner and PolyGram of forming a joint venture to distribute the 1998 performance of the three renowned singers and agreed not to discount or advertise certain catalog products for a limited time.


Vivendi unit Universal Music Group has said that the "alleged activities" occurred before Universal acquired PolyGram in Dec. 1998 and that they took place for only a brief period.


AOL unit Warner Communications settled the previous year by agreeing to refrain from similar agreements in the future. But Universal Music Group vowed to defend its position in court.

[Micheleh]

"MGM has to wait only until July 1... "

Until July 1? :confused:

[shiningstar]

This might not be anything to 'dance in the streets'
about ......but I do HAVE A BIG SMILE on my face.

ONCE they FIRE Hammer .........THEN I'll dance.

[BST]

What is Vivendi doing? Since they're not going to get their price, one has to wonder if they ever wanted to sell the properties at all.

http://money.excite.com/jsp/nw/nwdt_...&date=20030811


Yikes, am I glad that I don't own stock in that company!

[shiningstar]

That's good Peter Noble

[BST]

Another potential suitor says 'NADA' - Comcast decides NOT to bid on the VUE assets --

http://money.excite.com/jsp/nw/nwdt_...&date=20030814


...but, counters with an interesting proposition --

http://money.excite.com/jsp/nw/nwdt_...&date=20030814

Hmmm,......

If the current situation plays out AND NBC walks away with VUE, I would tip my hat to them. They would have paid ZERO for the properties, gotten majority control, and all they have to do is pay part of the bills. With a cash cow like NBC-parent GE backing this, that's a drop in the bucket! What a steal!

Way to go, NBC!!

BST

[shiningstar]

That's not good I was Hoping that Diller would be out of the Picture.

[BST]

Originally posted by shiningstar
That's not good I was Hoping that Diller would be out of the Picture.

For now, Diller IS out of the picture. He has no affiliation with the NBC bid. There was a time that he was trying to forge an alliance of sorts with Viacom but, they have since faded from the auction.

Anything can happen including having NO bidders winning the auction and Vivendi deciding to go the IPO route but, my guess is that they would rather reach a somewhat "sure" agreement rather than test the sometimes turbulent waters of the IPO arena.

BST

[shiningstar]

WHEW Thanks for the clear up Bst and Mozaltov on making
Warrior ace I just made that too.

[peter noble]

NBC leads suitors for Vivendi's entertainment unit

By Michael McCarthy,USA TODAY

NEW YORK — NBC is emerging as the strongest contender to walk away with Vivendi Universal's U.S. entertainment properties.

The General Electric-owned (GE) network is willing to add a small amount of up-front cash to its offer to merge NBC with the Universal movie and TV operations and USA Networks cable business collectively known as Vivendi Universal Entertainment (VUE), according to sources with knowledge of the talks.

NBC would have majority control. Vivendi could sell its minority stake to raise cash after a time period still being negotiated, the sources say.

An NBC team led by Robert Wright, NBC chief executive and GE vice chairman, met with a Vivendi Universal group led by CEO Jean-Rene Fourtou in New York on Wednesday. An alliance with a studio would help NBC profit from shows it airs when reruns are sold. This fall, NBC will own a stake in 42% of its prime-time shows vs. 50% each for ABC and Fox and 85% for CBS.

USA Networks would complement NBC's cable properties, which are heavy on news, with MSNBC and CNBC, but light on entertainment.

Neither NBC nor Vivendi Universal would comment on the ongoing talks.

Paris-based Vivendi put VUE on the block because it has been in a cash crunch for more than a year. Former CEO Jean-Marie Messier's effort to turn Vivendi into an entertainment giant left it with $42.6 billion in debt at the end of 2001. Messier was ousted in July 2002, and Fourtou whittled the debt to $13.8 billion at the end of 2002.

The company had hoped to close bidding by Monday, but it appears talks will continue.

Thursday, potential bidder Comcast, the No. 1 cable company, said it would not bid on VUE. Sources close to the talks said it balked at the price.

However, later in the day it said it was exploring an alliance involving both companies' cable TV channels and Vivendi's programming to create new channels and services.

Sources close to the talks said Vivendi approached Comcast about such a possibility after Comcast dropped out, leading some to speculate Vivendi is setting up contingency plans should its auction fail to bring an acceptable offer. Vivendi has said it is still considering an initial public offering for VUE.

In recent weeks, MGM's Kirk Kerkorian and Liberty Media's John Malone have dropped out of the bidding.

Still in the mix are Viacom, said to be interested mostly in the cable assets, and a consortium led by former Seagram chief Edgar Bronfman Jr., who originally sold Universal to Vivendi.

Vivendi probably will decide in September which offer, if any, it will accept.

Contributing: Reuters


Go NBC!

[BST]

Originally posted by Peter Noble

However, later in the day it said it was exploring an alliance involving both companies' (Vivendi's and Comcast's) cable TV channels and Vivendi's programming to create new channels and services.

Sources close to the talks said Vivendi approached Comcast about such a possibility after Comcast dropped out, leading some to speculate Vivendi is setting up contingency plans should its auction fail to bring an acceptable offer.

Vivendi has said it is still considering an initial public offering for VUE.

This has "Improve your bid, NBC, written all over it." I think Vivendi will go with the NBC bid, and cast everyone else aside, if NBC can manage to include some upfront cash OR guarantee a certain price for Vivendi's share of the assets when Vivendi eventually cashes them in.

With this proposed joint venture with NBC, Vivendi can cash out their share at a later date (when the value of VUE increases) and if they could get some cash now or a guaranteed amount later, it might make the deal a little more palatable to their shareholders.

[shiningstar]

Now THAT is a GOOD thing BST!

[BST]

Well, ....... the beginning of the end is finally beginning!

Admittedly, not a very well thought-out sentence, nonetheless, Vivendi is now in the process of accepting FINAL bids for the properties known as Vivendi Universal Entertainment. Thus far, the bidders appear to be as follows:

• NBC

• Edgar Bronfman et al

• Liberty Media

• Viacom

Check the URL for the entire story:

http://money.excite.com/jsp/nw/nwdt_...&date=20030818


Which bidder will make the final cut? Will any of the bids be acceptable to Vivendi?

NBC probably has the inside track and since their offer includes NO upfront cash, it probably hinges on the potential gain Vivendi can reap when they eventually cash in their stake.

Edgar Bronfman and his group of investors will either have to pony up more cash or they will be bidding adieu. Prior experience (owning and running the properties will have no bearing and it's doubtful Vivendi will be sentimental when deciding on final bids).

Liberty Media actually shot themselves in the foot when they purchased Comcast's stake in QVC. The money spent on that transaction could have been spent on acquiring VUE. Apparently Liberty wanted ALL of QVC more than it wanted VUE. Now, if Comcast were to jump in with Liberty, hmmm....there may be a deal in the making.

Viacom is mainly just here for appearance sake. Unless they align themselves with someone to take the studio and theme parks off their hands (all they want are the networks) then, they're done.


Well, that's all folks. I'm glad I don't do this for a living. There have been more twists and turns with this sale than any roller coaster I've EVER been on!!

BST

PS Thanks shiningstar and Congrats back at ya!!

[shiningstar]

TY

[BST]

The latest from the VUE Auction front -- all the bids are in, or are they?

Check the URL for the entire story:

http://money.excite.com/jsp/nw/nwdt_...&date=20030820

The "fat lady" is warming up her vocal chords, question is "when will she sing?"

BST

[shiningstar]

Nice article Bst! Thanks for the LINK!

[peter noble]

http://reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml...toryID=3322853

It's getting close!