Vivendi Pays More To Shareholders

Vivendi will pay investors an extra euro 2 ($2.12) per share to keep a minority shareholder onside when it comes to a vote on a change to French corporate law.

Photo: AP Photo / Jacques Brinon

People stand at the entrance of the Olympia music hall where Vivendi media group holds its annual shareholders meeting on April 17 in Paris

In return for the increased special dividend, which is on top of the euro 1 per share already promised, P. Schoenfeld Asset Management will vote against another minority shareholder demanding that Vivendi exempt itself from a new French law that would give longer-term shareholders – such as Vivendi chairman Vincent Bolloré – twice as many votes as new investors.

The UK’s Financial Times reckons the cost of keeping PASM onside is around euro 6.75 billion ($7.14 billion). Bolloré, who’s recently upped his own Vivendi stake from 5 percent to 14.5 percent, will also have PASM’s support for any vote on the company’s direction.

The U.S. investment house had previously suggested Vivendi sells Universal Music Group and abandons its switch from telecoms to media.

Bolloré has said he wants to turn Vivendi into a French-style Bertelsmann, the German media group. He’s just taken another step in that direction by negotiating with French telecoms operator Orange to buy 80 percent of its Dailymotion video-sharing platform for euro 217 million ($229.5m).