What's the word on the Viacom sale?

[JSC1]

Is there any new news on Viacom buying Sci-Fi?

[repcisg]

They are stuck on Tax issues, seems there is an IRS audit underway that will produce a tax bill some where between $700 million and $2.7 Billion. The question is who is going to pay it.

[repcisg]

Hi all,

I just had to share this, I’ve been wading through the last Vivendi Board of Directors meeting minutes.

While its bad news for us I must take my hat off to Fourtou, he has managed to dump $10 Billion of debit on to the French tax payers. He did this by spinning off the Vivendi environmental company as a separate entity and assigned it $10 Billion of Viveni’s debit. As a government protected monopoly the French water rate payers will have to pay off the debt.

Add to this about $2 Billion recovered from the sale of various properties and he has brought down Vivendi’s debit to around $8 Billion. He hopes to have it down to $7 Billion by yearend.

More bad news, his cash flow is up 115% and he has gained control of the European telecom Cegetel, he now holds 70%.

By yearend he is projecting Vivendi to have more cash coming in than going out. He will report a loss however, because he is still taking write downs on a number of properties. Of the $23 Billion loss he reported for 2002, $18 Billion of that was write-downs (Paper losses not real cash losses). Vivendi had only $5 Billion in real losses last year and will have little or none by year-end this year.

The outstanding Tax issues could tarnish Fourtou’s efforts but not in any way fatally, he has Vivendi headed for profitability in 2004 and I see no reason to doubt he will make it. Unloading nearly half Vivendi’s debt on the French rate payers is what turned it around for him.

What does all this mean for us? Well Vivendi is rapidly approaching a point where they will not need to sell Universal. In fact as time goes by their position is growing stronger, they have been reorganizing parts of Universal to improve cash flow to Vivendi and will continue to do so. But because of this squeeze operations like SciFi must become even more dependent on outside investors, and that is SciFi weak spot, their tender belly.

[repcisg]

The big gain had been in the reduction of debit $12 B total, plus the sale of major losing business such as the Italian cable network squeezing more cash out of Universal.

Down the road Fourtou does want to sell Universal, but on the best terms possible.

[Micheleh]

Unless the French drown him in his overpriced water.

[repcisg]

Based on current events, it couldn't happen to nicer group of people.

[JSC1]

Does it mean that Viacom is NOT buying Sci-Fi?