Date: 13th October 2000

More Regulatory Hurdles For Vivendi-Seagram Merger


Although Vivendi reportedly offered on Thursday to divest its 23-percent stake in Britain's BSkyB in order to help clear the way for its takeover of Seagram, the European Union's competition commissioner has indicated that that concession may not be enough.

The French daily Le Monde said Thursday that Commissioner Mario Monti is likely to launch a complete investigation of the merger that could last four months. The paper said that one of his concerns is that Vivendi controlled Canal Plus would get exclusive access to movies produced by Seagram's Universal Studios as an outgrowth of the deal.

Source: Studio Briefing